Disabled get travel wings as start-ups lend a helping handSharmila Ganesan Ram <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/toireporter/author-Sharmila-Ganesan-Ram-479207548.cms> | TNN | May 2, 2017, 09.47 AM IST Thirty-seven-year old Rustom Irani <http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/topic/Rustom-Irani>'s pale legs have tur ned an angry pin kish-brown. It's as if they are still blushing from his recent trip to Goa when, for the first time in 15 years, the Mumbai-based filmmaker wore swimming trunks to the beach. He had strapped himself to what looked like a yellow beachside chair with wheels that rolled him right out into the Arabian Sea. For the next three hours, sprawled on this amphibian chair, he bobbed up and down in the ocean, let out childish screams and returned with a lesson: always pack sunscreen. Incidentally, three mornings after Irani's outing, dozens of wheelchair users like him rolled down a wooden ramp at the same be ach and floated in its newly accessible waves. This hydraulic coincidence at Candolim owes to two separate initiatives that signal the rising tide of inclusive travel in India.
While Irani was testing out the imported floating wheelchair for Enable Travel, a website launched by Cox & Kings to help the disabled navigate India, the masses at Candolim beach were caused by `Beachfest', a five-day wheelchair-accessible festival organised by the accessible-travel portal, UMOJA."When people come to beach destinations, the physically challenged member is usually left behind but beaches are for everyone," says Yeshwant Holkar, CEO of UMOJA. Similar grouses are now prompting startups to venture into inclusive travel, in line with the government's two-year-old Accessible India campaign. They know that a huge domestic and international market of disabled people is desperate to travel. Inevitably, an estimated population of 20 million disabled Indians becomes "invisible", says Mumbai-based Divyanshu Ganatra, a clinical psychologist and the first blind Indian to paraglide solo. "How many disabled friends do you have?" asks Ganatra, who founded Adventures Beyond Barriers Founda tion in 2014. While trekking in the Sahyadris or cyling from Manali to Leh's Khardung La alongside people with disabilities, the able-bodied trip over insights. "They realise basic things like a blind can hold a full-time job and operate cellphones and that amputees can climb mountains," says Ganatra, who has seen several builders go back with ideas for making buildings accessible. - How to identify a good financial plan?*ArthaYantra* <http://ade.clmbtech.com/evnt/click.htm?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.arthayantra.com%2Ffinancial-planning%2F%3FlandingPage%3DFinancialPlan_HowToIdentifyAgoodFinancialPlan_CLB%26campaign%3DCDN%26campaignId%3DFinancialPlan_HowToIdentifyAgoodFinancialPlan&r=ZDk1MzJlNTgtMmQwMC00Mzg1LTgwMjctZmRmYWViZjc4N2Y1LTEwb2ljOjEyOTE0NjphbGwsNXhxOjE0NzAzMDI1OjIxOjEzMzEwNjA6NzMzOjo6My41OjA6NTg0Njg0MDkxOjE6Mjg3NjI6MDo6OjI6MTgyLjU2LjI0My44NDpNb3ppbGxhLzUuMCAoV2luZG93cyBOVCA1LjEpIEFwcGxlV2ViS2l0LzUzNy4zNiAoS0hUTUwsIGxpa2UgR2Vja28pIENocm9tZS80OS4wLjI2MjMuMTEyIFNhZmFyaS81MzcuMzY6OjAuMDowOjA6OjE2OjE6MDowOjQ&fpc=b9ddfb58-0d8b-4576-a0cf-9099bbf55d33&i=E525F946k276&s=http%253A%252F%252Ftimesofindia.indiatimes.com%252Fcity%252Fmumbai%252Fdisabled-get-travel-wings-as-start-ups-lend-a-helping-hand%252Farticleshow%252F58468409.cms> - Your child’s learning gets a makeover*Magic Crate* <http://ade.clmbtech.com/evnt/click.htm?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.magiccrate.in%2F%3Futm_source%3Dtoi%26utm_medium%3Dcpc%26utm_campaign%3Dweb%26utm_content%3Dyour-child%E2%80%99s-learning-get%E2%80%99s-a-makeover&r=ZDk1MzJlNTgtMmQwMC00Mzg1LTgwMjctZmRmYWViZjc4N2Y1LTEwb2ljOjEyOTE0NjphbGwsNXhxOjEwNTcyMzQ3OjIxOjUwNjI3ODo3MzM6OjoyLjg6MDo1ODQ2ODQwOTE6MToxMjM1MDowOjo6MjoxODIuNTYuMjQzLjg0Ok1vemlsbGEvNS4wIChXaW5kb3dzIE5UIDUuMSkgQXBwbGVXZWJLaXQvNTM3LjM2IChLSFRNTCwgbGlrZSBHZWNrbykgQ2hyb21lLzQ5LjAuMjYyMy4xMTIgU2FmYXJpLzUzNy4zNjo6MC4wOjA6MDo6MTY6MTowOjA6NA&fpc=b9ddfb58-0d8b-4576-a0cf-9099bbf55d33&i=E525F946k276&s=http%253A%252F%252Ftimesofindia.indiatimes.com%252Fcity%252Fmumbai%252Fdisabled-get-travel-wings-as-start-ups-lend-a-helping-hand%252Farticleshow%252F58468409.cms> Recommended By Colombia The problem with certain travel startups, says Ganatra, is that their "access audits" are conducted by able-bodied people who may fail to check for little details such as softness of mattress or availability of cordless phones. To avoid this, Enable Travel, a Braille-compliant portal, has enlisted a panel of experts with disabilities among whom is Shama Noorani, a wheelchair-bound Angel healer and Prabal Malaker, a retired Air Force officer who swims, hits the gym and travels undeterred by multiple sclerosis. "No two disabled have the same needs," says Irani, one of the experts. "Someone using crutches may not need a wide door while a wheelchair user might," says Irani, adding that after over two years of recces, the portal has identified14 cities in India where it plans to part ner with sightseeing points, hotels, and entertainment firms.There are also plans to introduce tactile tours of museums and spice farms as also to import wheelchair accessible aids such as foldable ramps. While many five-stars and three-stars have decent amenities for wheelchair users, "they ignore the vision and hearing impaired," says Holkar. "When security personnel at hotels ask the visually impaired to hand them their bags without explaining why , the clients are bound to be startled," says Holkar, who co-founded UMOJA three years ago when the travel misadventures of a polio-affected friend introduced him to the "massive information gap on accessible travel in India". This is why , his website launched an app where hotels feed information such as measurements and photos. Also, it makes sense for properties to invest in devices like pillow shaker alarms--a device that alerts the hearing impaired to the sound of doorbells. In fact, the need to make road transit smoother has now led tour operators to tie up with wheelchair taxi services. At present, two travel giants are in talks with Ezymov , a startup that runs ten cars with inbuilt hydraulic lifts that ferry wheelchair-bound patrons locally for Rs 200 per four kilometers. "We don't advertise as we know we won't be able to meet the demand," says Bennet Dcunha of Ezymov , which sees 55 clients per day mostly through word of mouth, among whom are senior citizens who have suggested that he start car-pooling service for patients. Besides, the high cost of imported devices--a shower wheelchair could easily cost $1000--is prompting startups likethe Pune-based Arcatron to develop economical, portable versions. Simple hacks may hold the key , feel clients. "Architects like to complicate things as they are swayed by vendors," feels Ashok Sar, an Orissa-based wheelchair-bound professor. Besides, air travel too must be made easier, says Hyderabad's Sai Kaustuv Dasgupta, a wheelchair-bound graphic designer with brittle bones disease. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://accessindia.inclusivehabitat.in/pipermail/ai_accessindia.inclusivehabitat.in/attachments/20170503/055051b4/attachment.html> _______ Disclaimer: 1. 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