While some announcements in the Railway Budget 2015 have been welcomed by senior citizens and persons with disabilities, many other demands that remain unfulfilled, they say.
The proposal to increase the quota of lower berths for the elderly, reserving the middle berth for them, improving the design of the ladders on the berths and adding more lifts and escalators at stations are moves in the right direction, said S.M. Chellaswamy, general secretary Tamil Nadu Elders’ Welfare Association.
“Climbing to the upper berth is extremely difficult for senior citizens, especially women, so this is an excellent proposal. We only hope these measures are implemented,” he said.
Online booking of wheelchairs on payment too is a good move, but 59-year-old S. Vasudevan pointed out that the motorised vehicles — meant to be provided at major stations — were generally unavailable. “If this does come in, it will be very useful,” he said.
Disability rights activists said the announcement that the disabled could purchase concessional e-tickets after a one-time registration had addressed a long-pending demand. “This would a very good move as we would then not be dependent on others to book tickets. But how far is the Railways website accessible to those with visual impairment,” asked B. Meenakshi, of Equals, Centre for Promotion of Social Justice.
However, the demand for CCTV cameras in the disabled coaches has still not been met, activists said.
The measure to make newly-manufactured coaches Braille-enabled has created some confusion. “Only about 10 per cent of those with visual impairment even know Braille. What is the point of making the coaches Braille enabled? If they announce where the coach reserved for the disabled is – at the front or the back of the train – this would help us considerably,” said S. Namburajan, another activist.
Exploring the possibility of building wider entrances is a good idea, activists say, but more important is improving access to platforms and measures to ensure people with disabilities can board the coaches, they add.
“Unless access is improved at stations and into trains, the disabled will still be at a huge disadvantage,” said Mr. Namburajan.
