Seats for disabled only for the abled
The railways has provided special seats for the handicapped, but it is more honoured in the breach than in observance as police personnel, season ticket holders and their own employees occupy these seats
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Friday, April 20, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/2012042020120420210006765ee2bd282/Seats-for-disabled-only-for-the-abled.html)
Forty-five-year-old Parul Brahmbhatt, who is disabled, was told to get lost by general passengers when she requested for a seat in the compartment for disabled in the Somnath Jabalpur Express. Parul was travelling from Surendranagar to Ahmedabad recently when she had to face the wrath of able-bodied travellers who had occupied her seat.
Parul called up the Sankalp Disabled Association & Disabled Advocacy Group of India. Its coordinator Pradeep alerted the Railway Protection Force (RPF) control. The the train was forced to make an unscheduled halt at Viramgam and the RPF detained seven persons who had illegally entered the compartment.
Parul’s case is not an isolated one. The plight of hundreds of disabled who travel by train from Ahmedabad railway station is no different. Pushed, threatened and thrown out at times for demanding their rightful seats, the differently abled are at the mecy of powerful groups, including cops, railway staff and monthly season ticket (MST) holders who forcibly occupy their seats.
Most trains have a compartment, comprising six seats, reserved for the disabled. The railways also allows one person to escort the handicapped person and occupy this compartment. But this is mostly on paper as the people the seats are meant for don’t get to occupy it.
It’s the same everywhere
Mirror boarded several trains, including the Gujarat Queen, Ashram Express, Shanti Express, Somnath Jabalpur Express, Navjivan Express and others, with some disabled. What we found in the compartment reserved for the disabled was nothing short of shocking. While the handicapped were forced to sit on the floor or occupy the top berth, normal people had enconsced themselves in their seats. The RPF seemed totally ineffective in dealing with the plight of the specially challenged.
The seats for the disabled in the Ashram Express coming from Delhi to Ahmedabad were occupied virtually by police and defence personnel.
In the Navjivan Express, five members of a family, besides others, had occupied seats the reserved seats. A handicapped person was forced to occupy the upper berth. When we asked a member of the family, Suresh, why they were occupying the seats, he pointed at a handicapped person, Ashok Rao, and claimed they were travelling with him, so it was legal. When Rao was asked about them, he said he did not even know them. Suresh’s wife claimed that the train was overcrowded and they were forced to enter the compartment with her children after there was a huge commotion when the train was leaving. The RPF detained the five at Kalupur railway station.
Vinay Tiwari (38), who had a disability in the leg, had travelled from Indore to Ahmedabad in the Shanti Express for a job interview. He was forced to occupy the top berth despite his disability. “Wherever the handicapped travel across the country, they face the same problems. The railways and RPF hardly take any action. In fact, no one even bothers to check the coaches.”
The situation was the same in Gujarat Queen. A railway staffer was sleeping in one of the lower berths. When Naveen Bhanushali, who has a handicap in the leg, asked him to make place for him, the employee screamed at him. A heated argument ensued and the staffer called another colleague of his and the duo abused him and even attempted to beat him up.
Pushed to the top berth
In the Ashram Express, travelling from Ahmedabad to Delhi, Robin Kushwa and Jagdish, both physically challenged, were forced to occupy the top berths by normal passengers. “We find it difficult even to walk, but are forced to climb up to the uppermost berth as people deny us the seats meant for us.
“We get these seats with difficulty and sometimes have to fight for it. We dread it when we have to answer nature’s call. The effort to climb down and then up again is unimaginable.”
Kushwa said the authorities ignore their complaints and the RPF is only there because of the media and Sankalp. “A separate arrangement needs to be made for the MST holders as they occupy our seats many a time. The coach for the handicapped is next to the general ladies compartment and when that gets full, they troop into the reserved compartment.”
Vicky Bindra, a monthly season ticket holder, who commutes between Ahmedabad and Nadiad and back, said, “The railway issues tickets to a lot of passengers and there is always a constraint. We have requested the railways to have an extra coach during office hours to take care of the rush but that has not happened.”
Pradeep of Sankalp said, the reserved bogeys are changed without announcement in different trains and people with disability have to rush at the last moment to occupy their seats. “Many a time the police and railway staff occupy these seats and if persons with disabilities demand their rights, a fight ensues.
“Our demand is that coaches for the disabled must be next to the air-conditioned coaches and the TTEs checking the AC coaches should also check these coaches and penalise those who travel illegally in it.”
Pradeep said the problems are compounded during the summer when there is a huge rush of vacationers.
The RPF has received flak for failing to effectively deal with complaints of the disabled. Talking about the steps the force has been taking, RPF Divisional Security Commissioner Sumati Shandilya said, “We have started keeping a check on all trains entering Ahmedabad division from places like Palanpur, Viramgam, Vatva etc. We have ensured that coaches of disabled and ladies compartment are not occupied by others. We believe in zero tolerance. On an average we have been registering 25 to 30 cases daily.”
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Friday, April 20, 2012 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/2012042020120420210006765ee2bd282/Seats-for-disabled-only-for-the-abled.html)
Forty-five-year-old Parul Brahmbhatt, who is disabled, was told to get lost by general passengers when she requested for a seat in the compartment for disabled in the Somnath Jabalpur Express. Parul was travelling from Surendranagar to Ahmedabad recently when she had to face the wrath of able-bodied travellers who had occupied her seat.
Parul called up the Sankalp Disabled Association & Disabled Advocacy Group of India. Its coordinator Pradeep alerted the Railway Protection Force (RPF) control. The the train was forced to make an unscheduled halt at Viramgam and the RPF detained seven persons who had illegally entered the compartment.
Parul’s case is not an isolated one. The plight of hundreds of disabled who travel by train from Ahmedabad railway station is no different. Pushed, threatened and thrown out at times for demanding their rightful seats, the differently abled are at the mecy of powerful groups, including cops, railway staff and monthly season ticket (MST) holders who forcibly occupy their seats.
Most trains have a compartment, comprising six seats, reserved for the disabled. The railways also allows one person to escort the handicapped person and occupy this compartment. But this is mostly on paper as the people the seats are meant for don’t get to occupy it.
It’s the same everywhere
Mirror boarded several trains, including the Gujarat Queen, Ashram Express, Shanti Express, Somnath Jabalpur Express, Navjivan Express and others, with some disabled. What we found in the compartment reserved for the disabled was nothing short of shocking. While the handicapped were forced to sit on the floor or occupy the top berth, normal people had enconsced themselves in their seats. The RPF seemed totally ineffective in dealing with the plight of the specially challenged.
The seats for the disabled in the Ashram Express coming from Delhi to Ahmedabad were occupied virtually by police and defence personnel.
In the Navjivan Express, five members of a family, besides others, had occupied seats the reserved seats. A handicapped person was forced to occupy the upper berth. When we asked a member of the family, Suresh, why they were occupying the seats, he pointed at a handicapped person, Ashok Rao, and claimed they were travelling with him, so it was legal. When Rao was asked about them, he said he did not even know them. Suresh’s wife claimed that the train was overcrowded and they were forced to enter the compartment with her children after there was a huge commotion when the train was leaving. The RPF detained the five at Kalupur railway station.
Vinay Tiwari (38), who had a disability in the leg, had travelled from Indore to Ahmedabad in the Shanti Express for a job interview. He was forced to occupy the top berth despite his disability. “Wherever the handicapped travel across the country, they face the same problems. The railways and RPF hardly take any action. In fact, no one even bothers to check the coaches.”
The situation was the same in Gujarat Queen. A railway staffer was sleeping in one of the lower berths. When Naveen Bhanushali, who has a handicap in the leg, asked him to make place for him, the employee screamed at him. A heated argument ensued and the staffer called another colleague of his and the duo abused him and even attempted to beat him up.
Pushed to the top berth
In the Ashram Express, travelling from Ahmedabad to Delhi, Robin Kushwa and Jagdish, both physically challenged, were forced to occupy the top berths by normal passengers. “We find it difficult even to walk, but are forced to climb up to the uppermost berth as people deny us the seats meant for us.
“We get these seats with difficulty and sometimes have to fight for it. We dread it when we have to answer nature’s call. The effort to climb down and then up again is unimaginable.”
Kushwa said the authorities ignore their complaints and the RPF is only there because of the media and Sankalp. “A separate arrangement needs to be made for the MST holders as they occupy our seats many a time. The coach for the handicapped is next to the general ladies compartment and when that gets full, they troop into the reserved compartment.”
Vicky Bindra, a monthly season ticket holder, who commutes between Ahmedabad and Nadiad and back, said, “The railway issues tickets to a lot of passengers and there is always a constraint. We have requested the railways to have an extra coach during office hours to take care of the rush but that has not happened.”
Pradeep of Sankalp said, the reserved bogeys are changed without announcement in different trains and people with disability have to rush at the last moment to occupy their seats. “Many a time the police and railway staff occupy these seats and if persons with disabilities demand their rights, a fight ensues.
“Our demand is that coaches for the disabled must be next to the air-conditioned coaches and the TTEs checking the AC coaches should also check these coaches and penalise those who travel illegally in it.”
Pradeep said the problems are compounded during the summer when there is a huge rush of vacationers.
The RPF has received flak for failing to effectively deal with complaints of the disabled. Talking about the steps the force has been taking, RPF Divisional Security Commissioner Sumati Shandilya said, “We have started keeping a check on all trains entering Ahmedabad division from places like Palanpur, Viramgam, Vatva etc. We have ensured that coaches of disabled and ladies compartment are not occupied by others. We believe in zero tolerance. On an average we have been registering 25 to 30 cases daily.”
