Kanchan thank you for sharing, hope you are doing well. Shocking yet unsurprising. It's appalling that over 41,000 men were booked for traveling illegally in coaches reserved for the handicapped on Indian Railways. The lack of awareness and disregard for accessibility is staggering. Kudos to activists like Nitin Gaikwad for highlighting this issue through RTI pleas. It's time for better enforcement and education to ensure these reserved coaches serve their intended purpose.
From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Kanchan Pamnani Sent: 19 June 2025 04:20 PM To: [email protected] Subject: [AI] Handicapped coaches no safe haven for disabled, RTI shows Times of India Sunday 15th June 2025 Mumbai : More than 41,000 men were booked for travelling illegally in coaches reserved for the handicapped on Western and Central Railway trains between Jan 2023 and Feb 2025. The number of women booked in the same period was just about 1,541. The data was accessed through a Right to Information (RTI) plea. Activists highlighted the difficulties faced by the disabled in boarding, alighting, or getting a seat in trains during peak hours, despite the legal action. “During peak hours, when other compartments are full, able-bodied travellers start entering the coach reserved for the disabled. At times, it becomes impossible for us to board or alight within the few minutes that a train halts at a station,” said differently abled activist Nitin Gaikwad who filed the RTI plea. The problem is acute at Ghatkopar, Thane, Kalyan, and Dombivali stations on CR. CR's response to the RTI plea shows that the highest number of unauthorised travellers (7,568 cases) were booked by Thane Railway Protection Force (RPF), followed by Dadar RPF, which recorded 3,486 cases, between Jan 2023 and Feb 2025. A senior RPF official told TOI they have more manpower deployed at major stations, which is a reason for higher cases. On WR, disabled travellers face difficulty in boarding or alighting from Virar-bound locals after Bandra station. "Pushing and shoving inside the handicapped compartment is very common," said Pandharinath Vetkar, a govt employee who has 90% disability and uses crutches while commuting. On May 16, a visually challenged woman was assaulted in a CR local following a row over seats. The accused, Mohd Ismail Beg, was arrested after avideo shot by onlookers went viral. In another incident, a differently-abled man was verbally abused by a woman in the handicapped coach of a CSMT-Badlapur fast train. "Able-bodied women travellers largely get away scotfree as the RPF does not have sufficient female staff to escort them to police stations and court. Another reason is that under the law, women can't be hauled to the police station after sunset, so they are not prosecuted as much," said an activist. An RPF officer however said they remove able-bodied female travellers from the handicapped coach. Activists also pointed out that plain clothed policemen travel regularly in handicapped coaches despite it being illegal. -- Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "AccessIndia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> . To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/019501dbe107%24e653bdb0%24b2fb3910%24%40gmail.com <https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/019501dbe107%24e653bdb0%24b2fb3910%24%40gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> . -- Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list.. Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "AccessIndia" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/a/accessindia.org.in/d/msgid/accessindia/015201dbe112%24fee568f0%24fcb03ad0%24%40gmail.com.
