In UT, no room for differently abled

Chandigarh Newsline met several differently abled people to know the kind of problems they are facing in the city beautiful.

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While Chandigarh is considered to be one of the most planned cities of the country and is now in the race for becoming a smart city, it is yet to become differently abled-friendly.

A day after the Regional Institute of Mentally Handicapped, Sector 31, released the data of differently abled people in the city, Chandigarh Newsline met several such people to know the kind of problems they are facing in the city beautiful.

There are more than 8,000 differently abled people in the city, and nearly 50 per cent of them suffer from locomotive disorders (orthopaedically handicapped). Lack of job opportunities is another problem faced by them.

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Sehdev Sharma, 41, who has been living in Chandigarh for the last 15 years, suffers from polio. He cannot walk and is wheelchair-bound. However, he said that it was not the wheelchair that made him feel crippled but the lack of facilities.

“The public transport is not differently abled-friendly. If I have to travel in a bus, I would need the help of two men who can pick my wheel-chair and place it inside the bus. That is why I have stopped travelling by bus and use my scooter,” said Sehdev.

He added that most of the city parks were also not differently abled-friendly. “Every sector has a park, but these are not meant for people who are physically challenged. They are fenced by iron grills with revolving gates. The parks are banned for animals as well as people on wheelchairs,” he said.

“I wish to visit Rock Graden, but I cannot because it is not differently abled-friendly,” he added.

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Harman Sidhu from Arrive Safe NGO said, “The moment I step out of my house, I am reminded of my condition. I cannot move on my wheelchair for at least 100 metres without any hurdles. Pedestrian paths are blocked with cars, ramps are not properly made, and nothing is differently abled-friendly, from government buildings to public transport.”

When Newsline visited Cheshire Homes in Sector 21, a centre for differently abled people, it was found to be in a pitiable condition.

“There is no caretaker and we live in unhygienic conditions. There are rats in the kitchen and they also eat our food. We have no option but to eat that contaminated food. Now, whitewashing is being done because they want to show it to the Adviser who might visit on August 15,” said one of the people residing in the home.

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