Yesterday morning, when I picked up the daily newspaper, I was confronted by a full page advertisement inserted by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment of the Government of India which was "Greetings to all persons with disabilities and the community working for their empowerment".
Pictures of the prominent persons starting with Indian President, Smt. Pratibha Devisingh Patel, the Indian Prime Minister of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh, Chairperson of the UPA, Smt. Sonia Gandhi, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri Mukul Wasnik, and Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Shri D. Napolean, stood out prominently on the page.
I thought to myself about this waste of money to fulfil their own self-glorification egoistic political agenda.
Had any of these eminent persons ever walked down ANY street in India with a physically challenged person and seen the nightmarish existence they face?
Are there 100 or even 10 traffic lights which cater to the needs of the blind in India?
To demonstrate my point of view, I took a short walk in the upmarket area of New Delhi, Golf Links. I walked to one of the most popular and oldest markets in the area, Khan Market.
The pictorial record shows what state the physically challenged would face.
There are no pavements clear enough for a wheelchair to be pushed!
There is a drop of almost 300 cm between the pavement level and the road!
There is usually a gutter in between the two.
Pedestrian crossings run up against a divider with a fence!
Roads are blocked by numerous impediments, mostly man-made, with no thought as to why a pavement exists!
The situation is already a nightmare for persons of sound mind and body, so what would it be for a physically challenged person.
In today's Hindustan Times, I saw that some steps are likely to be implemented to improve the pavements in the city of New Delhi!
Is New Delhi India?
And when is such a plan of action likely to see the light of day?
If in the upmarket area the situation is so bad, can one imagine what it is like in the other areas as where the poor and down-trodden live?
