No trains for disabled people

KARACHI:

While an ordinary passenger may enjoy the thrill of jumping into a crowded train just in time for departure, for a disabled person stuck in a wheelchair, boarding a train is anything but fun, especially when it comes to travelling on Pakistan Railways, where no accessibility provisions have been made to facilitate passengers with special mobility needs.

Babli Naseem, a 58-year-old polio patient who uses a wheelchair, said she was travelling to Rawalpindi to attend her niece’s wedding. “Once I reached the platform, I realised that there were no special desks or ramps to help disabled people like me. My brother and cousin had to lift me up to get me on the train, which had no space for a wheelchair. The entire journey was extremely uncomfortable for me as there were no toilets for disabled people either. It is the incompetence of the railway authorities to not consider the accessibility needs of disabled people. Are people like us not part of society?” she lamented.

Hafiz Qari Asif, another disabled person, was travelling to Multan with his wife on the Bahauddin Zakaria Express. “As there were no special stairs or ramps to get into the train compartment, we had to seek help from another passenger to get into the train. There were no seats reserved for people with special needs. Although the government has reduced the ticket price for disabled people, due to the lack of accessible facilities, they have to face severe difficulties,” complained Asif.

According to Rana Asif, who heads an organisation working for the special needs of people with disabilities, even though the government issued identity cards to people with disabilities and set a quota for them in government jobs, the community was still more or less marginalised by society.

“The accessibility needs of these people are not being catered to by institutions like the Pakistan Railways, which has not bothered to install a wheelchair ramp or even a special ticket counter. Thus, no physically challenged person can even imagine travelling alone in a train,” Asif lamented, urging the government to pay special attention to the issue.

Dr Nasreen Aslam Shah, a professor at the Department of Social Work, University of Karachi, reiterated that persons with disabilities are entitled to the same rights as any other citizen. “Persons with disabilities, whether blind or disabled, find it very difficult to move around. They do not have special facilities in buses and trains.”

“The government should reserve a coach for special persons and design it in such a way that all facilities are available for such people. In this way, the problem of their transportation could be solved to a large extent,” Dr Shah suggested.

“It is true that special persons are not provided any facilities in passenger trains of Pakistan Railways. Wheelchairs are available at big stations but generally at small stations this facility is also not available.

“Around 100 to 150 disabled people travel in Pakistan Railways passenger trains every day. That is why trains should be equipped with special seats and toilets for these people,” said Manzoor Razi, president of the railway workers’ union.

On the other hand, Pakistan Railways officials said that it is the responsibility of the higher railway authority to determine the need for separate carriages for special persons.