Just for curiosity, where did you find this news clipping?
With best regards,
Amiyo Biswas
Cell: +91-9433464329
----- Original Message -----
From: "National Platform For The Rights of the Disabled (NPRD)"
<nprd...@gmail.com>
To: <accessindia@accessindia.org.in>
Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2011 12:51 PM
Subject: [AI] Visually Impaired Rally for Road Safety
*Visually Impaired Rally for Road Safety*
* *
More than 500 blind persons under the aegis of the Paschim Banga Rajya
Pratibandhi Sammelani, a constituent of the National Platform for the
Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) rallied in Kolkata on November 15 to observe
“White Cane Day”. The programme scheduled for October 15 had to be
postponed by a month owing to various difficulties.
Though the afternoon was warm and there was an overcast sky with
possibility of rain, these impediments did not deter the young and old who
gathered there demanding road safety. Problems that disabled people face in
commuting while walking on the streets, commuting in buses, trains and
other modes of public transport do not make story anymore as these are
common everyday experience for most of them.
NPRD Convenor and General Secretary of the Sammelani, Shri Kanti Ganguly
inaugurating the rally congratulated the visually challenged for assembling
in such large numbers. He called upon them to be prepared for bigger
struggles ahead. Shri Sailen Choudhury, President of the Paschim Banga
Rajya Prathibandhi Sammelini spoke on seven point charter of demands.
The demands highlighted at the rally were:
1. Police personnel, traffic police in particular, should be sensitised
and trained in assisting pedestrians with visual disability. The right to
access and safety of roads and all modes of public transport have to be
ensured for all visually impaired persons
2. Disability issues should be part of the curriculum in schools and
colleges to sensitise people from a young age.
3. Inclusion of disability in the curriculum of police training as well
as administrative trainings.
4. Disabled commuters face severe problems while accessing both public
and private vehicles – all those create such impediments problems should be
given exemplary punishment.
5. All public vehicles should be made disabled friendly.
6. For benefit of visually disabled, auditory signs in the traffic
signals must be installed.
Subsequently, a delegation led by Shri Sailen Choudhury, President of the
Sammelini, Shri Pankaj Kumar Das, the founder principal of Louis Braille
Memorial School for the Sightless, a premier school for visually challenged
persons and vice president of the Sammelini and others met the joint
commissioner of Kolkata Police, Shri Supratim Sarkar and handed over a
memorandum to him. He assured the delegation that the police department
will take all possible measures to reduce the insecurity faced by the
visually disabled during traveling.
For a change, all along the route vehicles gave way for the disabled
people, who otherwise feel helpless while crossing roads. However, the
question remains whether the police will extend similar help when those who
walked together today, walk out alone in the streets on their way to
school/college/workplaces. Regular awareness programmes with
police/administration/general public as well as transport operators can
bring in the much needed change – which will enable these people to achieve
right to “Personal Mobility” in future.
*Anirban Mukherjee from Kolkata*
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