Why Chennai bus stops and bus travel are tough for the differently able persons
Posted on: 28/Dec/2019 9:35:21 AM
Vidya Sagar is an organisation in Chennai that supports differently able persons. Mr Hari Krishnan coaches the students at this Vidya Sagar. Every day, he takes his students for daily practise. He is unhappy with the attitude shown by the people of Chennai and by the state government towards the differently able persons.
It must be noted that daily Mr Hari Krishnan takes 4 students by the bus route 23C. The bus has never stopped at the designated spot but usually stops a few yards away. He spoke about how his students struggle to get into the bus plus struggle to get a seat also as many commuters do not give their seats to these differently able students.
There are as many as 90,064 differently able people in Chennai and it is the highest in TN. This was revealed by the census in 2011. High Court of Madras in the year 2016 grabbed the attention when it ordered MTC and SETC to bring in buses that were friendly for the differently able people.
It is shocking to note that major terminus and stations like T. Nagar, Poonamallee, Iyappanthangal, Ayanavaram, Adyar and Broadway etc lack facilities for differently able people. Point is there are no ramps, no wheelchairs, and basic facilities like wheelchair enabled toilets are also not available. People using wheelchairs are finding it difficult to board the buses.
It was later revealed by a senior MTC official that MTC drivers were unable to stop the buses at designated spots because of the presence of any autos. He added that though there are barricades in the middle of the road indicating its a bus zone other vehicles also enter the zone. He concluded that the number of complaints made by the MTC drivers against the vehicles parked near the bus stops was not recorded.
