Monsoon compounds woes of the disabled

Wheelchair users and those with crutches try not to go out too much during the rains owing to the damaged roads. A scene from Anna Nagar on Saturday. Photo: K. Pichumani

It’s bad enough when Chennai is bright and sunny, but navigating the city when it rains is a tortuous affair for disabled residents.

With damaged roads and footpaths that are narrow, broken or overflowing with garbage, wheelchair users and those using crutches say they try not to go out too much during the rains.

For C.R. David, who uses crutches and works in Park Town, the subway outside Chennai Central poses a daily risk.

“The water and mud have made the whole area slushy, and there’s always a chance I will slip and fall. The subway is in bad shape and going up and down the stairs is extremely difficult,” he says.

Every day, Karthik Chandrasekhar has to travel from West Mambalam to Nungambakkam to get to his workplace.

“It’s practically impossible to use my wheelchair on the road, when it rains, as it may skid. The roads are in terrible condition and some of the footpaths are broken. If there are ramp-like structures on the footpaths, it would make for easier access,” says the bank employee.

Law student and disability activist Ummul Khair says her wheelchair once got stuck in the slush.

“When I was in the U.S., I would go out during the rains all the time. There, I enjoyed the weather — here, I don’t. There are already so many difficulties we face in accessibility and the rains just make it worse. Accessibility makes a person independent, but here, we don’t have that,” she says.