Photo: FacebookWhen the Ernakulam Junction (South) railway station is transformed into the first disabled-friendly railway station in the country, Kerala has a steel-willed woman to thank for. The railway authorities were forced to sit up and take notice when a 20-year-old wheelchair-bound woman from Mumbai created ripples on social media with a campaign calling for a more sensitive approach to the needs of the differently abled.
For Virali Modi, however, this is just the beginning. She is intent on pushing with her campaign until all the government offices, public institutions and public transport facilities in the country are made accessible to the differently abled people.
The disabled rights activist started the #MyTrainToo campaign after she was faced with a bitter experience during one of her train travels. Her tweets on the subject received tremendous support. One of them drew a response from the then railway minister Suresh Prabhu in February. The minister assured her that efforts would be taken to turn all railway stations disabled-friendly.
However, Kerala was the only place where the minister’s assurance was taken seriously, said Modi. Railway authorities in Ernakulam have set up a long ramp for wheel chairs. Porters have been sensitized about the special needs of the differently abled passengers.
Electric cars would be made available for use by the differently abled on platforms. Special seating arrangements would be made for the differently abled passengers in the general and air-conditioned waiting rooms. The authorities said that they expected the facilities to be in effect in the station within six months.
The railway plans to replicate the model in all the railway stations in Kerala.
Modi, who had a near fatal experience with malaria in 2008, can be proud of her work.
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