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Government to report specifics on disabled-friendly buildings
Setting aside the government’s claim of resorting to a holistic approach to the problems faced by the physically-challenged, the Madras High Court has sought specific details about the number of educational institutions, government buildings and buses that are disabled-friendly.
By
migrator
migrator
Chennai
Taking note of the plea moved by L Muruganathan, a person suffering from a rare genetic disorder, a division bench comprising Justice Vineet Kothari and Justice Anita Sumanthcategorically informed Additional Advocate General NarmathaSampath to confine its reports to what has been sought in the writ petition.
Pointing out that there was no use in putting out general details which fail to serve any purpose, the bench said the petitioner appearing as party-in-person has cited statistics available on government websites to put forth his case on the lack of facilities. His pleas ought to be answered, the bench said.
The bench then noted that as per the petitioner only 10 out of the 20,000 odd buses run by the Transport departmentwere disabled-friendly. The court directed the principal secretary dealing with the welfare of the disabled to file a report about the government buildings and the schools that are disabled-friendly, the existing infrastructure and future plans by January 3. The Transport Commissioner was also directed to file a report on the same day about the available facilities and the plans for the future.
As per the directions of the bench, the petitioner had consolidated all four affidavits he had moved and filed a single report. This included one plea that dealt with physical accessibility of educational institutions for persons with disability, which is a fundamental and statutory right. Another plea was related to physical accessibility of various courts across the State. The third one related to access to justice for persons with disability, while the fourth one pertained to establishingright to healthcare for persons with disability and rare genetic diseases.
Disabled people to stage protest at DRM
Nine months after placing their petition against the Railway Ministry regarding problems related to accessibility and concessions, without any response to their demands, the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) has decided to launch a nation-wide protest at the offices of Divisional Railway Manager on December 11.
The Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently Abled & Caregivers – TARATDAC, said that representatives of various organisations, activists and individuals working among the disabled in the country, had sent a memorandum to Piyush Goyal, Union Railway Minister in March this year, drawing his attention to the problems faced by persons with disabilities while travelling with the Indian Railways and NRPD has called for a nation-wide protest. The TARATDAC affiliated to the NPRD will be leading the strike in the state.
Just a couple of days after marking the International Day for Disabilities, with emphasis on their constitutional rights and to claim public spaces, people with disabilities are up in arms against the Railways. Talking to DT Next, S Namburajan, State General Secretary, TARATDAC, said, “We have waited for more than nine months and they have taken no efforts to address the issues and challenges faced by us. We will continue protests till our demands are met.”
The many demands presented by the NPRD included that the Railways should go in for universal design and all coaches must be made accessible to disabled people. They had also sought ramps and lifts wherever necessary against escalators, which are not disabled-friendly.
The Railways have been providing concessions to certain categories of disabled persons in mail and express trains, which now has been extended to Rajdhani and Shatabdi also. But the concession is not provided in local and passenger trains noted the NPRD in its earlier letter to the Ministry.
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