disabled

Mohammad Irshad, a person with a disability and a native of Bengaluru, when asked about the current state of accessibility for the disabled in the city, said: “I have never been to a public washroom”. Irshad, diagnosed with a condition called Spina Bifida, where a  baby's spinal cord fails to develop properly, has been a wheelchair user for as long as he can remember. Irshad believes that the lack of accessibility in Bengaluru stems from the fact that the public and policymakers are unaware of the types of disabilities that exist. He believes accessibility for people with disabilities can only…

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is calling on engineers, designers, the scientific and innovation community, persons with disabilities, humanitarians, manufacturers, investors and entrepreneurs to join forces in the ‘Enable Makeathon’ to develop affordable solutions for challenges faced by persons with disabilities in rural areas. Image source: Nihal Kashinath, IoTBLR The Enable Makeathon is a 60-day programme taking place between November 2015 and January 2016. It consists of an ‘Online Track’ for teams from all around the world, and an ‘Onsite Track’ with a series of events in Bengaluru. Teams will work towards finding innovative solutions to nine…

The District Disability Welfare Office organised a camp for the differently-abled at the Government Kannada School in DJ Halli on August 11th and 12th, to ensure immediate needs of differently-abled people at DJ Halli are met. The camp allowed the differently-abled to undergo medical check-ups, and apply for disability certificates, disability pension and aid devices.   The first patient to come into the camp was an old lady, Vijaya, with some form of mental illness, who came in as early 8 30 am on Aug 11th, despite the disability camp being scheduled to start only at 10 am. She was…

Following the tragic but avoidable death of 6 year-old Meghala from D.J.Halli on July 17th 2013 due to malnutrition, the increased focus on the social indicators in D.J.Halli revealed a high incidence of disability in the area.  At the public hearing on 12th December 2013 at DJ Halli, several differently-abled persons shared the issues they faced with regard to access to disability pension and other schemes. The jury said that this was a human rights violation and the District disability welfare officer (DDWO) for Bangalore urban, Mr. G. Mohan promised to do a survey within the next two months to…

In April 2014, a young boy from Noble Saint English School, Kadugondana Halli in Bengaluru, appeared for his SSLC exam. This was his third attempt at the clearing his 10th standard exams. When the results were announced two months later, he had cleared all papers but one - Mathematics. Young Fayaz at his home, with his Mathematics text book. Pic: Ganga Madappa The young boy is Fayaz and he is a quadriparetic. Quadriparesis, the condition that Fayaz is inflicted with, refers to muscle weakness affecting all four limbs. Due to his condition, Fayaz cannot lift his hands or walk. The…

"I am amazed to see how this barren land has been transformed into an oasis! " exclaims Prashanth Bhat, a prolific landscaper. He pauses in his speech and gently leans over the podium, to reabsorb the expanse of manicured verdure lying before him. The evidently humbled man takes a breath to proceed, "Such initiatives like this Horticultural Training Centre (HTC) are threatening my own job as a inner-city landscaper," he comments. The gesture is obviously dispensed in tribute to the dazzling dozen-year-old venue.But the actual occasion Bhat is gracing is the 25-year anniversary celebrations of the HTC. The Centre, as…

Disabled citizens are struggling to get government issued benefit cards because the offices are situated on higher floors of buildings.  Karvy Technologies has been hired to collect biometric information for the UID project, by the government. One of its centres is located on the first floor of a building at Sampige road in Malleswaram. This centre has no provisions like nurses, elevators or even a ramp to support a wheel chair. Karvy technologies at Sampige Road. Pic: Author Venkatesan has been trying to get an Aadhar card for his physically challenged wife. He said: "I have been in touch with…

Excerpts from a recent conversation that Citizen Matters had with Shanti Raghavan (SR) and Dipesh Sutariya (DS), the enthusiastic, committed and unassuming co-founders of EnAble India. This 11 year old non-profit, NGO based in Koramangala is famous for its employment assistance services to those with mental, physical, visual and auditory challenges. Enable India co-founder Dipesh Sutariya. Pic: Pushpa Achanta. Shanti Raghavan was awarded the best individual working for the cause of persons with disabilities by the ministry of social justice and empowerment on December 3rd on world disability day, this year. Can you trace your journey from working in the…

Nagaraj, a Lingarajapuram-based graphic designer and a physically disabled person, would love to visit a mall in the city just like many Bangaloreans do when they have some free time. But he is physically disabled. And as most of the malls in the city do not provide adequate facilities for the disabled, an evening of leisure could become really challenging. Forum Mall (courtesy: Wikimedia) Most malls in Bangalore are not disabled-friendly. Building Bye-Laws 2003 of the Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike, state that all public and semi-public buildings are obliged to provide certain basic amenities for the benefit of disabled patrons.…