Wheelchairs aplenty, but few usable
Ahmedabad railway station authorities prefer to abandon wheelchairs with minor defects than getting them repaired
By Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Monday, August 24, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=200908242009082403075031d7c03079)
Ahmedabad railway station authorities on Saturday received three wheelchairs from Dhiren T Shah Charitable Trust, but that doesn’t guarantee hassle-free movement to physically challenged persons on the station premises. For, they might vanish after de
veloping minor defects.
By Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Monday, August 24, 2009 (Ahmedabad Mirror : http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/index.aspx?Page=article§name=News%20-%20City§id=3&contentid=200908242009082403075031d7c03079)
Ahmedabad railway station authorities on Saturday received three wheelchairs from Dhiren T Shah Charitable Trust, but that doesn’t guarantee hassle-free movement to physically challenged persons on the station premises. For, they might vanish after de
veloping minor defects.Sounds strange, but Ahmedabad station authorities prefer to abandon wheelchairs after detecting defects instead of repairing them. At least 25 wheelchairs requiring minor repair have been discarded by railway authorities. All of them have been dumped in the station superintendent’s storeroom (see picture).
The picture points out that there is no dearth of wheelchairs at the station. Yet, several physically challenged persons and their kin fail to trace one due to lack of drive among railway authorities to maintain them.
A railway official said: “There has never been dearth of wheelchairs at Ahmedabad station. The only problem is most of them are not repaired after they develop minor defects.” When Divisional Railway Manager of Ahmedabad Ashok Garud was apprised of the problem, he said: “I am not aware of wheelchairs, which require minor repair, are being abandoned. I will look into it.”
A railway official said: “There has never been dearth of wheelchairs at Ahmedabad station. The only problem is most of them are not repaired after they develop minor defects.” When Divisional Railway Manager of Ahmedabad Ashok Garud was apprised of the problem, he said: “I am not aware of wheelchairs, which require minor repair, are being abandoned. I will look into it.”
Garud admitted that he had received couple of complaints earlier on unavailability of wheelchairs at Ahmedabad station. But they have been addressed, he said.
No accountability
Wheelchairs at Ahmedabad railway station develop defects fast because nobody is made accountable for their poor maintenance.
“Earlier, porters had to deposit their badges to the railway official concerned to take wheelchairs. They used to get them back only after they returned the wheelchairs in proper condition. But now that system is not followed. Thus, porters these days abandon wheelchairs wherever they like after using them. Moreover, they don’t handle them with care because there is nobody to pull them up,” said another railway official.
Rough surface “The tyres of wheelchairs worn out fast at the station because of rough surface of platforms as well. Wheelchairs with defective wheels can trigger unfortunate incidents. But who cares,” said Sayan Joshi, a frequent railway commuter, at the station.
Ahmedabad Mirror had reported in August, 2008 how a dialysis patient fell from a ramshackle wheelchair at Ahmedabad railway station. A year on, things have hardly changed.
