Physically disabled people demand better treatment

KOLKATA: The Sruti Disability Rights Centre and Human Rights Law Network (Kolkata Unit) are contemplating contempt proceedings against the West Bengal government for not complying with Calcutta high court directions in regard to facilities for physically challenged people. In June this year, the high court after hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on the subject, had directed the state government to ensure that disabled people aren't harassed, reservation of two seats for the blind, orthopedically or congenially handicapped in stage carriage vehicles, including private and mini buses and better facilities for disabled people on roads.
"Nothing has been done in this regard by the state government till now. Disabled people continue to be harassed and have no access to public transport. The incident on December 24 in which a disabled lady and her 10-year-old daughter was subjected to harassment on a minibus is ample proof of this. This is no isolated incident. Physically challenged people are ill-treated and harassed regularly on the streets here even two decades after the Persons with Disabilities Act came into being in the country," said Debashis Banerjee, the advocate with the Human Rights Law Network (Kolkata Unit) associated with the PIL.
Two persons with disabilities, including a research scholar from Jadavpur Univesrity (JU), narrated their experiences in the city's public transport system. "The bus conductors don't help and other passengers are apathetic. Sometimes it makes us wonder whether we are a part of this society. Forget public transport, even government buildings are not built for the disabled. There are lifts but these don't have auditory signals for the visually challenged. The switches don't have Braille markings. We don't feature when new schemes for development are made," said Sourav Bose, an insurance agent who is visually challenged.
JU researcher Bubai Bag said that the public transport system really makes him feel disabled. "We are forced to occupy seats earmarked for the 'handicapped'. While states like Himachal Pradesh have done away with this term, we continue to persist with it. Even government buses don't allow disabled people to board if the two earmarked seats are occupied. There have been instances when other passengers have pushed a disabled person off a bus. Even on trains that have special coaches, commuters misbehave. The police do provide assistance but why do we have to turn to the men in uniform for such basic things," he said.
He pointed out that there isn't a single bus or tram in Kolkata that allows a wheelchair-borne person to get on or off. "As per the 2001 census, there are 18.4 lakh physically disabled people in the state. Recently, an official told me that only about 10 lakh such people have been identified and issued identity cards so far," Bag added.
Shampa Sengupta of Sruti Disability Rights Centre said that the state government, especially the departments of transport and social welfare needs to take steps to ensure the rights of disabled people. "In case this doesn't happen, we will be left with no other alternative but to seek the court's intervention," she said.