Beyond Paralympic medals: The fight for accessibility in India
India’s disabled athletes face ongoing accessibility challenges despite Paralympic success, with inadequate public spaces and transport options highlighting systemic indifference.
Bengaluru: The Paris Paralympics ended earlier this month with a record number of medals for India. The frenzy of interviews and photo ops has died down, and India’s disabled athletes will soon be back to living life as they know it in the country—an unforgiving obstacle course.
For the average disabled person in India, access to public spaces is limited and inconvenient. Even if policies that consider their interests exist, they are rarely implemented. Take the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act of 2016. Under this act, educational institutions funded by the government are supposed to have campuses accessible to the disabled, and plans for government buildings are meant to be approved only if they are disability-friendly
Read more at :
