September 21, 2019
On the occasion of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s birthday on
17 September, the Indian Railways’ had announced plans to launch exclusive
coaches for people with disabilities in all the trains. Many disability
rights activists are calling this move impractical. They also say this is not
going to be implemented.
On 17 September, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi turned
65, came this grand announcement by the Indian Railways’,
that every train would have a coach exclusively for disabled people. There
was much cheer from many in the disabled community over the move to make at
least one coach disabled-friendly and accessible. The
announcement also mentioned that luggage platforms would be built keeping in
mind the needs and requirements of people with different types of
disabilities.
However, the policy has not been welcomed by all. One of them is TMN
Deepak, Founder, 3 December Movement in Tamil Nadu, who says he
would rather wait to see it implemented before reacting to the words.
The successful implementation of disabled-friendly railway coaches depends
on the political will of the government, how the allocations are made, and
the amount of money allotted for designing such coaches. Officials must
clearly know the process of designing. They must consult people with
disabilities. Railway officials must also strengthen the existing systems
because most of them are inaccessible. – TMN Deepak, Founder, 3
December Movement.
Deepak also says he sees this as a gimmick. “All this looks rosy on paper.
How can something like disabled-friendly railway coaches in all trains be
implemented when the country is going through a huge economic crisis?”
Even today, after the Accessible India Campaign, most trains
and even railway stations still remain inaccessible, something that has been
raised across many cities by activists but nothing substantial has changed.
This means people with disabilities are largely excluded from an essential
means of transport.
“We need accessibility in every coach and not just one coach that is
disabled-friendly”, points out Smita Sadasivam, a member of
the Disability Rights Alliance of India. “The entry must
also be accessible. Currently, even disabled coaches of Indian railways do
not have that”.
Kerala activist Jomy Joseph says if this is implemented, it
could be revolutionary but suggests genuine accessibility would mean that all
coaches are made accessible. “It is indeed a welcome move because people with
disabilities must be able to travel without hassles. But is reports are to be
believed, the government is going to remove the existing coaches for disabled
people. Honestly I feel that, it is best to make all coaches
disabled-friendly”.
Also Read: Disabled people push for need of accessible
& disabled-friendly Indian Railways
Source: https://newzhook.com/story/indian-railways-promise-exclusive-disabled-friendlycoaches-modis-birthday
