Activists demand faster issue of photo ID cards to disabled

While the railway administration has simplified the procedure of issuing photo identity cards to the disabled for booking tickets and do not insist that they come in person to collect them, activists have appealed to them to speed up the process of issuing these cards.

To obtain the photo identity cards, applicants have to attest multiple documents, including disabled ID card issued by the Government of India and a hospital certificate. Once they are verified, the photo ID cards — that will help the disabled book tickets, either in person or online — are distributed.

“The process is cumbersome and should be simplified,” said K. Gopinath, state general secretary, Tamil Nadu Udavikkaram Association for the Welfare of Differently Abled.

Officials said that the procedure was not tedious and they did not even insist on applicants coming in person to any of the railway offices.

After producing all the relevant documents, any person authorised by the applicant could collect the final photo ID card, they said.

Officials made personal checks to verify details and they were issuing the photo ID cards as early as possible, they added.

M. Nagarajan, president, college students and graduate association of the blind, said the process was not tideous, but applicants had to wait for a very long time.

At times, applicants had to wait as long as three months to get the photo ID cards, he said, adding that the railway administration should issue the card in less than two weeks.