Make offices, public places disabled-friendly: Voters

THANE: When 28-year-old Anjali Pandey visits government offices or schools, she needs help to pick her wheelchair to enter the buildings. Most public places and offices are not disabledfriendly.

Pandeymetwithanaccidenta few years ago and has been wheelchair-bound since then.

“Public transport needs to be disabled-friendly. Trains have coaches for the disabled but how do we get into trains with so much gap between the train and the platform. This makes it difficult for us to move around independently,” she said.

The Thane district collector has ensured voters do not face problems reaching the booth.

“The government will make provisionsforarampandproper access to polling booths. Why can’t the provisions be made available in most public places throughout the year?” said Pandey.

Rohini Sathe, 27, resident of Majiwada, has been on a wheelchair since she was 10. A neurological problem affected her lower limbs. Over the years, she has learnt to travel on her own.

“During the Lok Sabha elections, my polling booth was a school in Ovla Majiwada and the polling booth was on the first floor. They only had a makeshift palkhi which was a chair tied to two bamboo poles. I wasn’t confident of using that. Eventually, some people lifted my wheelchair and took me to the first floor,” said Sathe.

Although buses and trains have provision for ramps for the differently-abled, it is difficult to manoeuvre on uneven roads or footpaths on a wheelchair.

Kairavi Patil, 36, resident of Kopri, lostherlegsinanaccident a few years ago. She has been fighting for basic facilities for the physically challenged at public places. “Changes in infrastructure should be initiated across all places from government offices to police stations. This includes footpaths,” Patil said.

“Public washrooms should have railings but I hardly see disabled-friendly toilets. It becomes difficult for us to be independent if the government ignores such requirement,” added Patil.

Senior citizens also face a similar problem. They find it difficult to access public washrooms. “We have multiple ailments and have to use the washroommany times. We need clean and hygienic washrooms. With the increasing population of senior citizensinthecity, thereisaneed for more places for us,” said Raghavendra Odeyar, 72, resident of Waghbil.