Travelling can be tedious and tiresome. For a person with a disability, it
can be even harder. Now, disabled people in Kerala are coming together to
fight against the insensitivity of government officials. All Kerala
Urban Road Transport Corporation (KURTC) buses have exclusive spaces
to keep wheelchairs and they even have wheelchair ramps. Recently, KURTC took
an extreme step. They removed all the facilities for wheelchair users to add
more seats in the buses. This has made travelling impossible for wheelchair
users.
Popularly known as Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission
(JNNURM), these low floor buses are the only road transport with
facilities for wheelchair users. These buses are introduced to Kerala roads
in collaboration with the central government. In spite of
repeated complaints, JNNURM officials refuse to bring back wheelchair ramps
and exclusive spaces.
The state government is being insensitive to our requirements. Having
wheelchair facilities in public transport is our right. Earlier, when we
had the facilities, travelling was much easier. There are many wheelchair
users who commute to different parts of the state in these low floor buses
for studying and even work. Now, travelling has become a nightmare to us.
We have given complaint to ministers and other officials. But our
complaints go unheard. Six new seats are installed at places which are for
wheelchair users. How do they expect us to travel in the buses?-
Mohammad Rabeeh, wheelchair user and disability rights activist
from Kerala
According to reports, the seats were installed due to increase in number of
passengers. Officials have also been getting complaints saying that there are
no enough spaces in buses.
“A person without a disability can board any bus. In fact, there are buses
every ten minutes to prime locations from all bus stops. What about
wheelchair users? Their only mode of public road transport was these low
floor buses”, says Rabeeh.
Wheelchair users also point out that most of the bus drivers refuse to stop
the bus when they see a wheelchair user. Recently, Rabeeh and his friends had
to chase a bus and make the driver stop it so that Rabeeh could board the
bus. Once he boarded the bus, passengers abused him saying that he caused
them inconvenience! These are not isolated incidents. Wheelchair users and
people with disabilities face discrimination and harassment in many ways.
“I used to take a bus almost every day to go to school. It was easiest for
me because I could place my wheelchairs inside the bus and there was a ramp
as well. But now everything has been taken off. It has been over three months
since they took off the facilities for wheelchair users. I tried speaking to
a few authorities and I have not heard back from them. Maybe very few
wheelchair users make use of these facilities and that must be the reason
they decided to take it off”, says Mohammad Fasil, a school student
from Kerala.
Irrespective of the numerous complaints, officials have decided not to take
action. Wheelchair users are struggling to find ways of public road
transport. This sheer apathy is costing them a lot!
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Source: https://newzhook.com/story/20929
