A couple of days back, I hopped onto my regular 6:26 p.m. ladies’ special train from Dadar to Mulund. When I reached my stop, fellow commuters promptly ejected me, a silent rule Mumbaikars obey while travelling in packed local trains.
The city was on yellow alert, and it started raining heavily. I was too exhausted to search for the umbrella in my bag. I thought it would be best to wait at the station entrance. Suddenly, I spotted a man sitting on the ground. He struggled to lift his body while being careful not to get his rain-soaked hands trampled in the peak hour rush by the ignorant commuters. It took me a moment to realise what was happening — he was trying to get back into his wheelchair.
Later, when I was in the queue at the rickshaw stand, I saw him again. This time, he had a caregiver with an ID card around his neck. We both stood there in the rain. I wanted to speak to him but snarling traffic noise made me turn for a moment, and the next thing I knew, both were gone, lost in the crowd.
But what’s important is this: He’s just one among the 2.64% of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) residing in the state, according to the census data 2011. In fact, Maharashtra ranks fifth in the list of Indian states with the highest proportion of PwDs to the total population in India. Among India’s total percentage of PwDs, Maharashtra ranks second with an 11% PwD population, following Uttar Pradesh at 16%.
These statistics underscore the daily challenges they face, especially when it comes to accessing public transportation to lead independent lives. It highlights the critical role of government schemes designed for PwDs and evaluates their effectiveness in realising accessibility rights and promoting social inclusion, as emphasised by both the state and central government in their respective budget speeches in 2023.
(In)accessible Public Transport
A typical Mumbaikar has multiple affordable public transport options for navigating the city, ranging from the fast local trains and economical BEST buses to auto-rickshaws to avoid congestion. And now, in the last decade, one can avail of the convenient services offered by cab aggregators like OLA and Uber.
But for PwDs, there is a challenge at every single step, and options are way too limited. For the 33-year-old Tilakprasad Joshi, travelling by the Mumbai locals is ‘part and parcel’ of his life. Joshi, a person with 100 per cent visual impairment, resides in Bhandup and travels daily to Thane, where he works as an assistant manager with the operations team in one of TATA Capital’s offices. He asserts that much has changed in terms of the PwD-friendly amenities in the city’s public transport system in the last decade since his first train journey.
The primary need of PwDs is to ensure safe and independent travel, includes locating the ticket counters in case of railways, the special compartment dedicated for PwDs and Cancer patients, audio cues such as the beeping sounds, sensory cues such as the braille maps, and availability of functional washrooms and drinking water facility. However, in spite of several measures taken by the state government and the Mumbai Railways, these basic facilities still remain a distant dream for several regular PwD commuters.
For Joshi, identifying the right platform to board a train becomes difficult, especially when the two railway tracks are within the same range, “Several stations have platform 1 and 2 on the opposite sides of each other. One wrong turn, and I would end up taking the wrong train”. He recalls an incident during college when he fell onto the tracks because of a wrong turn.
To avoid such mishaps, the Mumbai Suburban Railway network now provides a unique beep sound as an audio cue that helps visually impaired individuals locate the handicap compartment. He says, “The beep sound does help, but many are not maintained properly. I try to notify the authorities if I spot a dysfunctional beep sound at any platform.”
Need For Structural Revamp
While the metro has been slightly better for the PwD, the other older modes of public transport, the ones that are very much the lifelines of the city, need structural revamp.
Joshi feels there is an urgent need for more braille signages across the different railway platforms. Currently, only a few bridges in the city have braille signages. He explains, “A braille message with the platform number inside each coach will prevent us from boarding the wrong compartment. If I board a wrong train, I can immediately read the braille signages on the pole at the train’s entrance with the platform number.”
Similarly, for other individuals with different disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, accessibility of ramps at railway stations becomes crucial for their daily travel. In 2016, the Bombay High Court rebuked the railways after the latter said they could not provide ramps for the PwDs at six suburban stations on the western line. The PIL submitted by India Centre for Human Rights and Law, a non-profit legal aid and education organisation, had pointed out that the 36 stations on the central line of Mumbai’s Suburban Railway Network provide ramps for the PwDs only at the entry and not at the exit points to the respective railway stations.
In 2021, as part of their joint venture, the state government and the Indian Railways began a technical assistance study on improving universal access for people with disabilities (PwDs). However, the situation continues to remain the same.
Affordability, a major roadblock
Affordability is another major roadblock for PwDs while accessing public transport. Joshi points out, “If you are a PwD from the privileged classes, everything will be taken care of for you. But most PwDs cannot afford OLA and Uber every day. I am working but still cannot afford it daily. The main aim of public transport is to be economical and accessible irrespective of the fact whether one is disabled or not.”
As this 2020 research paper points out, “Accessibility appears to be only achievable for those who possess the financial means to own a wheelchair or a car, or afford auto-rickshaws or taxis.”
Until a decade ago, the most common issue faced by PwDs, especially those with visual impairment, would be to figure out the safe distance between the track and the platform. The tactile mapping of the floors at all the stations by the railways and the state government now enables people with visual impairment to be alert when approaching the grated tiles at the periphery of the platform. It is a physical sign to maintain a safe distance.
In 2018, Borivali station became Mumbai’s first railway station to become PwD-friendly. Similarly, in 2021, with the help of national transporters, braille signages were installed at key locations at the CST station to help PwDs navigate and use various facilities available at the railway stations for them.
Both the state government and the railways need to replicate these solutions on a larger scale. This entails proper allocation and utilisation of the budget designated for the welfare of (PwDs).
Unclear records, Unanswered questions
In Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) announced a total estimated budget for the fiscal year 2023-24, which is Rs 52,619.07 crore. Out of this, a budget of Rs ₹25.32 crore has been allocated under the scheme of financing PwDs in the city. Mumbai is also one of the first cities in India to have a Department of Disability Welfare, and they have launched various schemes to aid differently-abled individuals. However, none of these schemes focuses on dedicating a budget for improving the infrastructure of the public transport facilities that will aid the mobility of the PwDs in the city.
At the national level, the 39th report by the standing committee appointed by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment pointed out the lax attitude of the central and state governments in utilising the funds allocated in their respective budget under several welfare schemes.
In its correspondence in the action taken report, on page 11, the committee points out that it had examined the budget of the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities for the past three years. They found that the department’s budget was often reduced, and the funds were underutilised. The report reads, “In 2021-22, they only spent ₹539.00 crore out of ₹1,044.31 crore because of COVID-19 causing delays and missing documents. The department promised to use the leftover money by March 31, 2022, but more than ₹500 crore stayed unused.”
The central government responded by saying that it had introduced several welfare schemes to utilize the allocated funds. The Scheme for Implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (SIPDA) is one such scheme that has various sub-schemes within it that includes the infrastructural facilities to the PwD as per the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016. However, it defended itself, saying the COVID-19 pandemic had slowed down the implementation of such schemes effectively by the next budget in 2024.
Further, The National Statistical Office (NSO) 2018 report on persons with disabilities in India presents several alarming statistics with respect to the help received by the PwDs from the government. Page 118 of the report points out that in Maharashtra, 85.4% of male and 86.8% of female PwDs did not receive help/aid from the government.
The same report highlights that 71.2% of males and 72.3% of PwD females have difficulty using public transport.
Year after year, budgets are announced with grandeur and pomp, but they often fail to deliver. The schemes and funds allocated by both the centre and the state are flaunted publicly and become their manifesto highlights, but the utilisation is often buried under the weight of lofty promises and seldom questioned due to the lack of data.
As the government has announced the Amrit Kaal (golden era) for Bharat, the persons with disabilities in Maharashtra are waiting for theirs to begin. Will the state public transport ever be accessible to persons with disabilities? Only the (election) time will tell.
Featured image is for representational purposes only.
This story has been written as part of the My City Writers’ Training Program.