Volunteers of Voice of Specially Abled People are highly appreciative of the Railway Budget presented by H’ble Railway minister Shri Suresh Prabhu as it has set the direction and the focus on Accessibility to help millions of “Divyang” passengers.
Here are the major announcements made in the parliament, which reflects firm commitment of Shri Suresh Prabhu for senior citizens and Specially Abled People. While this is a great beginning of a journey ahead to transform the Indian Railways and make it “Divyang” friendly, VoSAP will continue its advocacy efforts with the ministry for its comprehensive proposal that was submitted in Dec 2015. Here is the link of the same.
- Divyang People can have paid porter services with battery operated vehicles in addition to pick up and drop off using wheel chair assistance. VoSAP is working on multiple aspects for implementation of this initiative
- In the current year, EACH platform on A-1 class Railway stations will have at least 1 Accessible toilet. VoSAP recommends to accelerate this initiative by having CSR funds utilized for this
- To expand the reach of Accessible India Campaign, all the stations currently under re-development will be made fully accessible. VoSAP recommends to ensure stair lift or regular lift on each platform to be built as part of this modernization efforts
- There will be additional number of wheel chairs provided on the railway platforms which will help transport Divyang people safely and comfortably. VoSAP recommends to increase number of battery operated vehicles with design to carry wheel chairs also
