‘HMR should take up access audit for travellers with special needs’

HYDERABAD

It has been five years since the Hyderabad Metro Rail (HMR) started operations, and it’s time that the authorities concerned look at providing barrier-free access to the differently-abled at stations as well as on trains, says disability rights activist P.Sudhakar Reddy.

“I want the metro rail officials to note that it is just not enough to incorporate access features in the design stage. They must constantly keep watch to ensure that no access obstacles come up,” he adds. 

The reason for his angst is the travails of BharatMD Foundation, a parent support group of children with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), during metro travel. The group had recently conducted two awareness programmes on muscular dystrophy where children with DMD and their parents underwent a harrowing time getting out due to barricades and bollards blocking the pathway near elevators, at the Paradise and ESI metro stations.

”Until my own child was diagnosed with DMD, I had no knowledge about this genetic disease. Along with like-minded parents, we formed a group to create awareness among doctors at two hospitals near these stations. We had to take the help of traffic police to lift our wheelchair-bound children out because of obstructions near the lifts. We are not aware of such difficulties at other stations,” says Rama Lakshmi from the foundation.

Ms.Lakshmi brought the issue to the notice of Mr.Sudhakar Reddy and also took to Twitter to highlight the problem. “Humankind has not been able to find a cure for saving the lives of these children. The least anyone can do is NOT to make their life difficult by insensitive and unlawful actions,” says Mr.Reddy, who himself is afflicted with muscular dystrophy and has been propagating for barrier-free access of public facilities for about two decades.

As a former director (inclusive development for persons with disability) of Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) in united Andhra Pradesh, he was also instrumental in pushing through welfare schemes for the disabled by taking up an intensive survey and early identification programme. “If the HMR is sincere in their approach, they should associate themselves with a disability group and constantly get access audits done. At Delhi metro station, I was horrified to note that the toilet meant for the disabled was being used as a storeroom and another was shut as they feared it would be soiled. Providing access facilities is not a one-time effort; it is a continuous process,” insists this post-graduate engineer in computer science, who had earlier worked in BHEL R&D division.

Mr.Sudhakar Reddy suggests HMR designate a senior officer as an ‘access officer’ to constantly note feedback/ grievances from metro travellers with special needs, senior citizens, pregnant ladies, illiterate persons etc., to improve their accessibility features, and also prominently display the officer’s contact numbers at all metro stations.