Access to Goa’s fabled beaches will no longer be a dream for the differently-abled. A floating wheelchair promises to allow them to enter the water and move around on the sand. The wheelchairs, imported from France, will be used for the first time in India at Goa’s beach access festival, scheduled to begin later this week.
Yeshwant Holkar, Chief Executive Officer of UMOJA — a Swahili word meaning inclusive — explained how the wheelchair works. A differently-abled person is strapped and secured with a safety belt, as in a car. The chair has four fat wheels at the side that would allow a family member to pull it across the sand. There is also a leading wheel in front. Once the chair reaches the water, four inflatable pontoons not only allow it to float — giving the experience of a boat ride — but also help to keep it stable.
“Tests show it’s nearly impossible for the chair to topple over because of the pontoons,” said Mr. Holkar. A special brace takes care of those who do not have control over their neck movements.
In Goa, two lifeguards from UMOJA’s partners Drishti Life Savings Services will man each wheelchair. In the interest of safety, the wheelchair will be allowed only up to a distance of 10-15 metres into the sea: a point at which the lifeguard can stand in the water till his waist or chest in water. “This will gave the disabled person a feel of what it’s like to be in the water,” said Mr. Holkar.
UMOJA currently has just one such wheelchair, which people can take turns to use. Perhaps the one disadvantage of the chair is that the person sitting in it cannot manipulate it, given that they are strapped to it.
The idea is to showcase it at the Goa event so hoteliers are encouraged to buy them and offer them on hire to their guests with special needs. “There is a huge travel and hospitality potential,” said Mr. Holkar.
