Reporter's Diary: When dressing down helps disable greed

At a renowned public facility in the city that issues the disability certificate approved by a set of qualified doctors, there is often a long queue. Parents line up here in order to get attestation by a qualified medical practioner for their diffabled children who require the certificate to join college or a course. Recently, the mother of a 17-year-old was visibly distraught as she had to come to the facility time and again to get an appointment with the practitioners. Even more daunting was the fact that the whole procedure was controlled by the ward boys. Visibly tired and spent, the woman in her late 40s, told this reporter that she had even changed her style of dressing to pass off as someone from the lower middle income group. “I realised that they were seeking commission, going by people’s attire. Today, one of them offered his services at a reasonable rate, after seeing me draped in a washed out dull saree,” she said. 

The reporter suggested that she speak to the head of the medical facility and gave her the mobile phone number of the official. 

Though it did save the day for the mother, the ward boys continue to hold fort at the centre, where every other day someone who doesn’t have a choice, must bend to the whole set-up.