Railways urged to make services disabled-friendly

The National Centre for Promotion of Employment of Disabled People (NCPEDP) has urged the Kaya Kalp council to make the Indian Railways disabled-friendly, a press statement of the centre said on Saturday.

In a letter written to Ratan Tata, who will chair the first meeting of the 'Kaya Kalp' council at Rail Bhavan here on May 12, NCPEDP requested him to work for making Indian Railways disabled-friendly.

NCPEDP director, also the chairperson of Disabled People's International, Javed Abidi said the Indian Railways is one of the largest railway networks in the world carrying over 23 million passengers a day.

"Yet despite its best intentions, the infrastructure and facilities of the Indian Railways remain completely inaccessible to people with disabilities -- conservative estimates putting this number between 70-100 million.

"On behalf of my organisation and all disabled people in India we request you to kindly include recommendations to make the Indian Railways disabled-friendly," Abidi wrote in the letter.

He said in response to the letter, Tata replied that he has perused through the request to make the Indian Railways disabled friendly and also to ensure comfort of travel for the elderly, sick and incapacitated.

He said Tata has assured him that he will certainly draw the attention of the Kaya Kalp council to their needs.

Kaya Kalp, the new innovative council of railways, has been set up to recommend innovative methods and processes for the improvement, betterment and transformation of the state-run rail network.