The balmy Sunday morning was filled with laughter as the Kalamassery metro rail station received hundreds of differently-abled persons, who were all eager to take their first ride in the Kochi metro.
The programme, organised by the Centre For Empowerment and Enrichment, took 450 persons on a ride in the metro, in batches, with a large number of volunteers to help them board the train.
Excited lot
The participants were full of excitement throughout the journey as Kochi continues to celebrate the inauguration of the metro train facility. Even the most severely afflicted, thirty-six of them on wheelchairs, made the trip, helped by volunteers.
The children carried balloons to mark the festive occasion.
With the metro already having hogged the limelight, the huge rush at the Kalamassery station aroused a lot of curiosity among passers-by and some of them stopped to enquire about what was happening at the station.
“The response to the programme was overwhelming,” said the organisers, who had also arranged a metro-shaped cake.
Minister for Social Justice K.K. Shylaja cut the cake after greeting the participants. The Minister wished the riders a happy journey. The organisers said the trip for all the four batches ended on a happy note around 12 noon on Sunday.