dr. satendra sing advocating free metro for persons with disabilities in indian express, today
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Shivam Agrawal
Jun 25, 2019, 1:22:00 AM6/25/19
to jnu_v...@googlegroups.com, jnudpa
dear all,
here i have shared a piece which was written by dr. satendra singh,
today in indian express.
life in metro
In a study on fatal pedestrian crashes among persons using wheelchairs
in the US from 2006 to 2012, it was found that men who use wheelchairs
were five
times more likely than women wheelchair users to be killed in roadside
collisions. Unfortunately, we do not have such detailed data in India
because of
the forced invisibility of commuters with disabilities. But, we do
have a 2011 Chennai-based study confirming road traffic accidents to
be the main cause
of amputations (acquired disability). A 2017 audit by the Centre for
Science and Environment placed Delhi on the top in road accident
deaths and cited
the capital as most unsafe for pedestrians. Delhi is certainly not
“safe” for commuters with disabilities.
In a meeting in December last year, with stakeholders to make Delhi a
model Accessible City, at the Union Ministry of Social Justice,
Delhi’s transport
department gave an assurance to explore the possibility of bringing
wheelchair-accessible cab services in the capital. A slogan of the
general elections
was to “leave no voter behind”, and the Election Commission vouched to
provide free pick-up and drop facility to voters with disabilities.
This, however,
opened a pandora’s box: No public transport in Delhi (barring the
metro) is wheelchair accessible.
The 70-point action plan of the
Aam Aadmi Party
for the Delhi Assembly Election, 2015, had a four point agenda on
disability in addition to Action Plan 53 stating “persons with
disability will be provided
concessional passes on buses and in the metro”. On February 6, too,
the speaker of the Delhi legislative assembly announced that
concessions for the disabled
will be extended to the Delhi Metro. This promise is yet to be
fulfilled. The AAP’s 38-page Delhi manifesto for the general
elections, 2019, revealed zero
results while searching for “disability” or “disabilities”.
No manufacturer in India manufactures modified vehicles for the
disabled. In fact, Maruti Inc, has devised its own discriminatory
policy to deny government
concession to customers with right leg disability. Disabled people are
forced to go to local vendors who basically apply the “jugaad system”
to their two
and four-wheelers. Moreover, the Central government has also, for the
first time, imposed GST on the assistive devices of “divine bodies” or
“divyang”
people, while keeping kajal GST-free. This was compounded by a recent
Supreme Court judgement which further marginalised the disability
sector by banning
the retrofitting of vehicles in India (RTO vs K. Jayachandra, 2019).
It goes without saying that a person with disability has to incur
additional expenditure
due to the absence of accessible public transport. This is also true
for a majority of the able-bodied who acquire disability after road
traffic accidents.
Therefore, commuters with disabilities will benefit from free
transport rather than any partial concession.
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Article 9) stipulates that,
for the disabled, public transport must be accessible on an equal
basis. The UN’s SDG target 11.2 calls for access to safe, affordable,
accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, with special
attention to commuters
with disabilities. Data from eight developing countries indicates that
the average proportion of persons with disabilities who consider
transportation
not accessible is 36 per cent (Sri Lanka 39 per cent and Nepal 33 per
cent). In India, Section 41 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Act, 2016,
mandates accessibility in transportation.
Delhi’s deputy chief minister travelled in a local bus to ask women
about the free metro and bus transport facilities. I invite the Delhi
chief minister
to accompany me in a wheelchair, and the transport minister to get
blindfolded along with a cane as an assistive device in order to
navigate the city —
to feel the lived experience of a commuter with disability. It won’t
be difficult to judge who needs accessible and safe transportation the
most. As Gandhi
once said, a nation is known by how it treats its most marginalised
members. Unless the state fulfils its obligation to provide dignified
and accessible
transportation to commuters with disabilities, they ought to provide
us free metro services, as it remains the only means of accessible
transport in our
country.
(The writer teaches at University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi,
and is a disability rights activist)
article end
source:
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/disabled-delhi-metro-dtc-aap-manish-sisodia-kejriwal-free-rides-5797808/
-
Regards
Shivam Agrawal
Doctoral scholar
Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies
School of Social sciences
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi-10067
Phone: 08960499839
here i have shared a piece which was written by dr. satendra singh,
today in indian express.
life in metro
In a study on fatal pedestrian crashes among persons using wheelchairs
in the US from 2006 to 2012, it was found that men who use wheelchairs
were five
times more likely than women wheelchair users to be killed in roadside
collisions. Unfortunately, we do not have such detailed data in India
because of
the forced invisibility of commuters with disabilities. But, we do
have a 2011 Chennai-based study confirming road traffic accidents to
be the main cause
of amputations (acquired disability). A 2017 audit by the Centre for
Science and Environment placed Delhi on the top in road accident
deaths and cited
the capital as most unsafe for pedestrians. Delhi is certainly not
“safe” for commuters with disabilities.
In a meeting in December last year, with stakeholders to make Delhi a
model Accessible City, at the Union Ministry of Social Justice,
Delhi’s transport
department gave an assurance to explore the possibility of bringing
wheelchair-accessible cab services in the capital. A slogan of the
general elections
was to “leave no voter behind”, and the Election Commission vouched to
provide free pick-up and drop facility to voters with disabilities.
This, however,
opened a pandora’s box: No public transport in Delhi (barring the
metro) is wheelchair accessible.
The 70-point action plan of the
Aam Aadmi Party
for the Delhi Assembly Election, 2015, had a four point agenda on
disability in addition to Action Plan 53 stating “persons with
disability will be provided
concessional passes on buses and in the metro”. On February 6, too,
the speaker of the Delhi legislative assembly announced that
concessions for the disabled
will be extended to the Delhi Metro. This promise is yet to be
fulfilled. The AAP’s 38-page Delhi manifesto for the general
elections, 2019, revealed zero
results while searching for “disability” or “disabilities”.
No manufacturer in India manufactures modified vehicles for the
disabled. In fact, Maruti Inc, has devised its own discriminatory
policy to deny government
concession to customers with right leg disability. Disabled people are
forced to go to local vendors who basically apply the “jugaad system”
to their two
and four-wheelers. Moreover, the Central government has also, for the
first time, imposed GST on the assistive devices of “divine bodies” or
“divyang”
people, while keeping kajal GST-free. This was compounded by a recent
Supreme Court judgement which further marginalised the disability
sector by banning
the retrofitting of vehicles in India (RTO vs K. Jayachandra, 2019).
It goes without saying that a person with disability has to incur
additional expenditure
due to the absence of accessible public transport. This is also true
for a majority of the able-bodied who acquire disability after road
traffic accidents.
Therefore, commuters with disabilities will benefit from free
transport rather than any partial concession.
the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Article 9) stipulates that,
for the disabled, public transport must be accessible on an equal
basis. The UN’s SDG target 11.2 calls for access to safe, affordable,
accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, with special
attention to commuters
with disabilities. Data from eight developing countries indicates that
the average proportion of persons with disabilities who consider
transportation
not accessible is 36 per cent (Sri Lanka 39 per cent and Nepal 33 per
cent). In India, Section 41 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Act, 2016,
mandates accessibility in transportation.
Delhi’s deputy chief minister travelled in a local bus to ask women
about the free metro and bus transport facilities. I invite the Delhi
chief minister
to accompany me in a wheelchair, and the transport minister to get
blindfolded along with a cane as an assistive device in order to
navigate the city —
to feel the lived experience of a commuter with disability. It won’t
be difficult to judge who needs accessible and safe transportation the
most. As Gandhi
once said, a nation is known by how it treats its most marginalised
members. Unless the state fulfils its obligation to provide dignified
and accessible
transportation to commuters with disabilities, they ought to provide
us free metro services, as it remains the only means of accessible
transport in our
country.
(The writer teaches at University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi,
and is a disability rights activist)
article end
source:
https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/disabled-delhi-metro-dtc-aap-manish-sisodia-kejriwal-free-rides-5797808/
-
Regards
Shivam Agrawal
Doctoral scholar
Zakir Husain Centre for Educational Studies
School of Social sciences
Jawaharlal Nehru University
New Delhi-10067
Phone: 08960499839
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