A day to think about the disabled around us

On December 3, on the occasion of International Day of Disabled Persons, we should stop and think about the disabled in our midst. Just to get your attention, there are a total of 2.68 crore disabled people in India. Are we fully prepared to take care of them? Are we doing a good job of it?

27 year old Arun Sajwan from Delhi, who is physically challenged, expressed how he is fighting the difficulties presented by the world around him. He says, “When you grow older, your body becomes weaker and it is difficult to manage the disability and the trouble increases. I can't even sit for longer because of the pain in my back.”

He added, “We can not enjoy the privilege of public transport as there is no special arrangement like ramps, wheelchairs and walkers. Once I visited Red Fort 5-6 years back with my friends and found there was only one wheelchair available at the place for disabled people. However, I have been lucky to have some good friends who supported me in my journey of becoming C.A.” Sajwan added.

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Physically challenged people not only suffer because of society but sometimes, they also come across mental stress due to the inconvenience they suffer.

Sajwan further says, “In the last few years, I have seen some improvement in infrastructure provided for us. Now we see some ramps for wheelchairs and some help in metro stations.” On a positive note, he said that with the help of supporting wheels now he can drive a two wheeler on his own.

Mohammad Shams Aalam Shaikh who is an Indian para swimmers says, “There are several things in society which are problematic for disabled such as lack of infrastructure. Also at times, people do not always cooperate with us and their negative attitude affects us.”

He added, “The best way to live peacefully is to take care of ourselves, following all the safety measures and ignoring the negativity around.”

He added the government needs to implement and follow the rules meant for the right of people with disability.