'I Couldn't Find Any Place To Take My Disabled Friend To Lunch In Bandra'

'I Couldn't Find Any Place To Take My Disabled Friend To Lunch In Bandra'

India is home to one of the world’s largest differently-abled populations, and yet, the efforts by our government to ease their lives is close to none. In an interview with Divyanshu Ganatra, blind psychologist, disability rights advocate and paraglider, we talked about how it’s less about ‘helping’ this community of people so much as it is about empowering them to take their lives into their own hands and make choices for themselves. Even though the Persons with Disabilities (PwD) Act was passed in 1995, very few infrastructural facilities in our country are accessible for those with special needs. In its race to the top, the government needs to remember that for India to be taken seriously on the global stage, it is important that we start taking all our citizens and their needs into consideration.

Albeit several decades late, we as a nation have slowly started taking steps towards becoming an inclusive society. The Modi-led government launched the Accessible India campaign under which India is to be transformed into a differently abled-friendly country, yet the on-ground reality in day to day life isn’t as hopeful as the campaign sounded to us.

Accessibility to public spaces and institutions remains a major obstacle that needs to be tackled. It’s not just government buildings, hospitals and banks - although those remain of importance - but even places that one may visit on an everyday basis, like grocery stores, cafes, restaurants and movie theatres, that need to be integrated into the realm of accessibility for all. If grabbing a quick cup of coffee is an essential part of getting your day started, how and why is it any different for a person that is differently abled? This may seem trivial to us, but it’s a lot larger than that, and only truly hits home when a person experiences it firsthand. One such person was Syed Amir Abbas Rizvi, who recently took to Facebook lamenting about his difficulty in finding an eatery that was wheelchair accessible in Bandra, Mumbai. The plan was to catch up with a childhood friend whom he hadn’t spoken to in years, and instead, he spent hours in search of a place where his friend could even comfortably enter in his wheelchair. We spoke to Mr. Rizvi and requested him to recollect the incident. What became clear is that while activists and members of the differently abled community have spent years fighting for the right to live their independent lives with dignity and to be seen as equals, there are people who still believe that just picking up a person in a wheelchair and carrying them is perfectly fine, not demeaning at all, and definitely the easier option.

“Shekhar and I are childhood friends. We grew up together, played together, learnt how to ride a bicycle together. When he was 23 years old he met with a train accident. He survived, but lost his leg. He was injured so terribly and amputated in a way that no artificial limb can be properly attached. He’s been wheelchair-bound for the last 25 years now.

We lost touch over the years, we had moved from Rourkela and my parents retired, but out of the blue he contacted me through social media last month. We decided to meet and catch up on old times, so he came to Mumbai specially to see me from Jamshedpur. He stayed with me for two days, during which we went out and I wanted to show him the best Mumbai had to offer. I was looking for a place in Bandra, a hip and happening place where we could relax, hang around with other people and get some coffee. I had meetings in Bandra as well, so thought this would be the best place. The plan was that I’d drop him off at a coffee shop, finish off my meeting and then join him afterwards. I roamed around the area, searching and couldn’t find a place that could be accessed by a wheelchair.

For instance, I had to go for a meeting in Khar, and thought Starbucks would be an ideal place for Shekhar to pass some time. But as I drove up amidst the heavy traffic I saw that they had only stairs leading up to the entry - there was no ramp. My meeting was in a building next to Starbucks, so ultimately, we decided he’d wait in the car while I went in.

Next, we tried our hand at Bandstand, and here too all the Baristas and Cafe Coffee Day type places only had steps and no ramps. I even thought we’d go to the infamous Khau Galli, but in the entire area there was no place we could actually take a wheelchair and go. Yet again, we made our way to Bandstand, bought some coffee and sat outside.

We ventured out in the evening for dinner and headed to Oshiwara. Again, we faced the same problem. My friend had to be lifted in his wheelchair by four people that were sent out by the restaurant and taken inside.

After I posted the entire ordeal on Facebook people did put out suggestions of various places, such as Eat Around The Corner, that were wheelchair accessible, there’s an entire Zomato listing of such places, but in that moment, there wasn’t a place where we could go with ease, without prior research, consideration and contemplation.

Of course, there are places in malls and hotels as well that have ramps and elevators, but we wanted to go someplace where people would normally just hang around on a daily basis, and for us, at that point it just wasn’t possible. With this you’re actually segregating people, forcing them to go to separate, limited places, away from the everyday crowds.

These things are all around us, it happens to people all the time. I was used to it as well and never really noticed it so minutely before. When you are with a person who faces these difficulties, that’s when you realise how dire the situation is. It may seem small and inconsequential to some, but it’s everywhere, including society buildings - there are no ramps or lifts, and even when there are lifts they aren’t comfortable for a wheelchair.

At the Oshiwara restaurant, they’re used to lifting people in wheelchairs and just bringing them in - young, differently abled or old. Nobody really considered it as doing anything wrong. Not having a ramp wasn’t an issue, and there’s no problem with just gathering a few folks and picking up the wheelchair.

Do people even really consider making restaurants, cafes and public spaces in general accessible for differently abled citizens? No, they’re seen as a small percentage of their business. It’s not a big difference to undertake the changes required.

After Mumbai Shekhar was going to Pune and we had to catch the bus at the Bisleri Compound bus pickup point, near the Western Express highway. There too we had to wait on the road because although there was seating area at the waiting spot, there was no way to get my friend inside and in the shade. So we stood outside, in the sun, just because there was no ramp.

These are public spots, and government and privately-run establishments and institutions. But basically, it’s public transport, so to speak, and it’s not open to the entire public. Nobody really thinks about it, they’re not really bothered by it either.

In Mumbai we have old buildings, most of them without elevators and narrow, steep stairs. But even these old buildings have old owners and residents - it’s not just about making it easy for people in wheelchairs. These things can be changed, it’s just a task no one wants to undertake.

How do we solve this? The only solution is to make it mandatory - not give permission for construction or any kind unless these facilities of accessibility are a part of the infrastructure. Make it old-age friendly, wheelchair friendly, open to anyone differently abled. Before giving business licenses these things need to be checked. Otherwise, nothing is going to change, nor get better.

Right now in our country there are weird things being made mandatory, yet this remains to be considered primary in decision/policy making. Why is that?

In developed countries, everyone, regardless of age and physical ability are considered when it comes to accessing public spaces, it’s among the priorities, yet in India, there’s no second thought given to it. This needs to change.”

As narrated to Sara Hussain

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