While the State has made a start with regard to measures taken to assist differently-abled people, there is still a long way to go, say voters.
Attempts have been made to improve accessibility on roads, but this really needs to be worked upon, says Tiffany Brar, a 32-year-old visually impaired social activist and founder of Jyothirgamaya, a non-profit organisation that works towards empowering visually challenged persons. “Pension for people with disabilities, a sum of ₹1,500, is not realistic for anyone these days. It should be increased to at least a nominal amount of ₹4,000 to ₹5,000,” says Ms. Brar, a resident of Thiruvananthapuram.
Rajeev Palluruthy, secretary of the All Kerala Wheelchair Rights Federation, also raises the issue of pensions. “A common welfare pension for all categories of people will not suffice. A specific pension amount for people with disabilities would help, particularly for people who might be completely bedridden,” he says.
Ms. Brar says the government and the bureaucracy tend to make things more difficult than they need to be. “There is this whole rigmarole you need to go through when you are applying for something, whether it’s pensions or something else. Not only people with disabilities, but women in vulnerable circumstances should also be taken into consideration, and government processes should be made easier,” she says. The new government should consider audio system in buses and trains to announce the arrival of stops, and a specific helpline for women with disabilities, to address the issue of domestic violence, she adds.
Voting has increasingly become accessible for differently abled persons. Electronic voting machines have serial numbers embossed in Braille and 50,000 Braille ballot papers are distributed across polling stations in the State. Ms. Brar says that it began with the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Mr. Rajeev also points out that allowing postal votes for differently abled people is a long-standing demand that has finally been met. “Quadriplegic people can now vote from their rooms.”
But much is left to be done. “Self-employment and education for differently abled people need to be prioritised, and reservation of seats in the government will help people with disabilities raise their own issues,” says Mr. Rajeev. Implementing the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, entirely should be the focus, he adds.
Unni Maxx, a 46-year-old graphic designer from Kottayam, points to beaches and theatres that are not accessible to people with disabilities. “There is a ramp at the Alappuzha beach, supposedly set up to make the beach accessible, but the sea isn’t even visible from there,” says Mr. Maxx, who is the secretary of Thanal Paraplegic Patients Welfare Society.