File status report on wheelchairs given to diff-abled, govt told

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court on Monday asked the State government to file a status report on the procurement and distribution of wheelchairs to people suffering from spinal injuries.

A PIL filed by Spinal Injured Persons Association charged that the State government has been procuring and distributing the substandard and defective battery-operated wheelchairs to the people who are suffering from muscular dystrophy and tetraplegia.

The matter came before the first bench of the High Court comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice PD Audikesavalu.

Representing the association, its president D Gnana Bharati submitted through counsel E Vijay that there were no guidelines to conduct quality check of the battery-operated wheelchairs provided by the government.

After hearing the submissions, the bench issued notice to the State government, asking it to file a status report on the procurement and distribution of wheelchairs.

Further, the petitioner mentioned that people with spinal cord injuries are categorised into two kinds. While people who suffered from the disability in the cervical region require wheelchairs, the second category who suffered from disability in the thoracic and lumbar region needs scooters.

Following this, the court ordered the State to submit a report on the implementation of the scheme and the distribution of wheelchairs to the relevant classes of persons with disabilities.

The petition had argued that the battery-operated wheelchairs distributed were substandard