Paraplegic Virali Modi's online petition for making railways accessible for persons with disabilities sparked ... Read More

Travelling by train for the disabled could often be a nightmare.

Mumbai-based paraplegic and model Virali Modi agrees as she narrates the horrors she had to face while being ‘helped’ by porters to board the train.

“I’ve been groped and manhandled by porters. On three occasions I was molested by them in Mumbai station. I was left humiliated and all I could do was cry. The railways treat the disabled as a piece of luggage. This needs to stop!” went the 25-year-old’s online petition #MyTrainToo, seeking the Railway Ministry to provide adequate facilities at railway stations and in trains for the disabled.

Her call, which gathered the support of over 1.5 lakh petitioners, was heeded a month ago as the Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu announced that the ministry is committed to making 500 stations across the country disabled-friendly. And Trivandrum Central , by procuring portable ramps and foldable wheel chairs, has been the first railway station in India to implement the

initiative.

TVM Central sets an example

Trivandrum railway division is leading from the front by procuring a portable ramp and two foldable wheelchairs to assist the physically challenged to board and alight trains. The team had also contacted Virali for her suggestions.

Former Trivandrum railway division manager Sunil Bajpai had pushed for the initiative once he came across Virali’s petition. Sudheesh VC, senior divisional commercial manager of the Trivandrum Railway Division says, “Currently, the ramp has been introduced on a trial basis. The facility can be availed at a cost of `65. The porters will lift the ramp and set it adjacent to the rail coach entry.”

He though tells us that the team is also working on improving the ramp. “We found a few structural glitches as it is a bit slippery and doesn’t have wheels. We are now working with ramp experts to modify the design to make it easier to use, for those operating it as well those availing the services.”

Despite these initial hiccups, Virali, who is a disabled rights activist and motivational speaker, has welcomed the initiative. “I felt happy when the officer contacted me and asked me to shoot ideas on how trains and railway stations could become more accessible to the disabled, without much change in the infrastructure,” she says. “That’s how they procured the foldable wheelchairs and ramp. They did it independently which was a great step from their side.”

Meanwhile, Sudheesh says that enquiries from other railway divisions of the country including Chennai and Mumbai have been flooding in to know about the prototype design and technical information of the ramps.

Plans to make the entire division disabled friendly

The Trivandrum Railway Division is now planning to extend its facilities to all the stations in its ambit as part of the government’s Accessible India Campaign, which is aimed at universal accessibility of persons of disabilities.

As part of the plan, the division will procure more lightweight ramps and also hand rails. Sudheesh says, “We are planning to allocate a total of 15-20 ramps in all major stations including Kollam, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam and Thrissur within this year.”

In the next phase, he explains that the authorities are also planning to facilitate wheel-chair friendly footpaths and raise the platform height to make boarding and disembarking easier. “This way we can change the system to make it disabled friendly to an extent. Also, in case if a woman commuter requests for assistance, we will ensure that a lady staff accompanies her and oversees the assistance provided by the porters,” says the senior official.

The impediment for the implementation of these facilities though is lack of funds, he says, and to counter them the railway division is mulling on co-operating with various civil societies. “We have been receiving many designs from various NGOs and media firms. This will also help us offer the services of the modified ramp at revised rates of `150 including portage fee,” adds Sudheesh. “We doubt those who are financially backward would avail these services at this rate but with more sponsors we could definitely lower it.”

Next stop is Kochi

As per the railway sources, a media house has agreed to sponsor wheelchairs soon at the stations in Kochi thus turning it disabled friendly. “Meanwhile, our railway board has also allocated disabled-friendly coaches in the express trains that have wider entrance doors with spacious berth. These are unreserved coaches specially designed for the physically-challenged community,” says Sudheesh.

Virali’s crusade continues

While Virali says she is happy about the developments in Kerala, she wants the initiative to spread to the entire country. “My effort is to make India have a wheelchair friendly railway system and to make sure the travails that I faced does not happen to any other disabled person,” she says. “The central budget had mentioned that the government will create 500 railway stations which are wheelchair friendly. My question is why can’t they make the whole system disabled-friendly, just like how it is abroad? Yes it will have practical difficulties but it can be done. Not everyone in our country resides in metropolitan cities and railways are the frequently used mode of transportation between States. I wish to sit down with the Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and talk to about the difficulties faced by those whom are disabled.”

Virali’s demands for making railway stations across the country disabled friendly

My fight is to ensure human dignity for the disabled. I am asking the authorities for some basic things everyone takes for granted:

Accessible bathrooms with proper space inside; clean and higher toilets, low sinks so we can easily wash our hands.

Accessible coaches for the disabled in all trains, ideally one for each class. Enough space between berths so it is easy to fit a standard size wheelchair between the berths and we can shift onto our seats when needed.

Curtains around the berths for when we need to change. Often, I've needed to change my clothes and the berths are too small for me to roll around to change my clothes, as well as have no privacy.

Proper infrastructure to cross railroads if needed to change platforms.

Beside these infrastructure related demands, I also want an attitudinal shift in the way the disabled are treated:

Sensitise people to let those with disabilities board first as the general public normally does not care about our well-being. Everyone is in a rush to get to their seats.

Sensitise abled-bodied persons to not board the handicapped compartment, especially in local trains. We often see that in the local train, those who are not disabled will climb in. That isn't fair.

Train the drivers and TCs to halt the train till a handicapped passenger has finished boarding, especially for local trains. The local train only stops for two minutes and with all the crowd, it is very difficult to board.

