NEW DELHI: The railways has put on display a "model disabled-friendly" coach on which no mobility-impaired person can get into without help. The coach has no ramp or hydraulic lift to facilitate boarding and alighting.
The reason given for the omission is even more shocking, according to activists who visited the Safdarjung station where the coach is being displayed. A railway official apparently told them no such facility was being provided because, on one occasion, the train had left without the ramps being removed.
The activists, from the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People in India, described the coach as an example of "further discrimination" against the disabled. The model rake was inspected by railway minister Suresh Prabhu on Monday.
The much publicized coaches have also been criticised for not having braille and other signages for visually and hearing impaired travellers.
Terming the changes introduced in the coach as superficial, disabled rights' groups said that introduction of a single such coach in a train further discriminated against persons with disalibilities by excluding them from other passegners.
In their report, the activists who visited the model coach on Tuesday said they were told that "only refurbishing of interiors" had been done on the bogie. Hence measurement wise it was the same as other coaches.
According to Javed Abidi, convener, Disabled Right's Group, the decade-old problem of getting inside the train on wheelchairs remained unaddressed. "About 95% of railway coaches are of a particular design and their doors are not wide enough for wheelchair access," he said.
"The primary issue is getting on to the coach from the platform. I have travelled in America, Europe, Malayasia and South Africa. They have portable hydraulic lifts, which are just platforms that can be raised to the level of the train's floor. It is a very dignified and safe way for a person with disabilities to board and alight from the train. Why we are not able to do that in India?" asked Abidi.
Activists such as Abidi, paralympic athelete Pradeep Raj and Dr Satendra Singh, coordinator, enabling unit, University College of Medical Sciences, also questioned the idea of have one or two exclusive coaches for the disabled in a train, terming this as "apartheid" against the disabled.
The Prime Minister in Mann Ki Baat had categorically called for better access for the disabled. Even railway minister Suresh Prabhu had asked officials to look into the proposals made by NCPEDP after his meeting with activists on September 1, 2015.
"The officials are dragging their feet," said Abidi. "This is no longer be acceptable to us. Why not make all coaches accessible and give the disabled the option travelling in various classes such as sleeper, three-tier AC, two-tier etc? We know all coaches cannot be made accessible overnight, but it can be done in a staggered manner."
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