Habibganj Railway Station Made Disabled-Friendly
In its effort to provide access for the persons with disabilities that is equitable; maximizes their independence; is safe and allows them to travel with dignity, Arushi helped to make the Habibganj Railway Station, Bhopal completely disabled-friendly, the first and only one in India. The Bhopal Railway Division has joined hands with Arushi for this purpose.
Facilities include:
- For wheelchair users who arrive on tri-cycles, a designated parking place.
- Warning blisters, boarding entry, ramps, wheelchair, disabled-friendly toilets.
- The Railway Time Table in Braille.
- Seat numbers in Braille in the ISO 9000 certified Bhopal Express.
- Awareness information on disability printed on Railway Reservation forms.
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Pathway with special tiles at the
Bhopal Railway Station. |
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Compilation of Aadhar
Arushi compiled a booklet on Concessions and Facilities available to persons with disabilities by the State and Central Governments. It contains the orders issued by various departments of State and Central Governments and Public Utility services meant to facilitate the education and mainstreaming of the children with disabilities.
The booklet, besides providing Persons with Disabilities Act 1995, covers facilities and concession provided by MHRD; departments of School Education and Higher Education; Social, Tribal, Scheduled Castes and Tribes; Health, Income Tax, Post and Telegraph, Custom and Central Excise and Public Utility Services like Indian Airlines, Railways, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. The Rajya Shiksha Kendra has brought out 10,000 copies of the booklet to be distributed to the all cluster and block resource centers in 313 Blocks of Madhya Pradesh. |
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Helpline on Disability
A Helpline on disability through Interactive Voice Response System (IVRS) was started in the year 2007 by Arushi in collaboration with Sir Dorabji Tata Trust. This helpline evoked a very good response as a result of which the Department of Social Justice Government of M.P. came forward and extended support to strengthen this service. It is now a toll-free Helpline service on Disability (No. 1800-233-4397) which provides information on all issues related to disabilities. A new facility of talking to the helpline executive has been added.
This Toll Free Helpline service receives calls from other states like Rajasthan, U.P., Delhi and Mumbai. On an average 80-90 calls are received every day. The information generally sought by the callers pertains to issues like employment, loans, educational grants, various government schemes, facilities, concessions and on disability issues. Many times the Helpline team has to intervene and take up the matter with appropriate agencies like schools and colleges. For example Harshit Agarwal, a BCom III year student with low vision, wanted extra time for writing the exam on his own. Arushi approached the the registrar and the Vice Chancellor of Jabalpur University and eventually the Governor.
So far, this is the biggest, in time of the volume of information being given and is available both in Hindi and English. Efforts are on to link it with the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan so that it becomes the official helpline for the state of Madhya Pradesh.
The following information is provided by the helpline.
- Information about the services/facilities available at Arushi.
- Information on vocational training, recording of books, Braille books, barrier-free environment volunteers and organization working for persons with disabilities.
- Information on mobility and sensitization programmes access audit and legal rights for the disabled.
- Information on educational facilities special schools, manpower development, employment and govt. schemes and facilities.
- Information on the concessions and privileges offered to the disabled.
- Information about disability – Hearing impairment, visual impairment mental retardation, physical handicap and speech impairment. Information on diagnosis and intervention of all of the above.
- Information on medical rehabilitation facilities and diagnostic fitment training and therapy centre.
First Disabled-Friendly Bank
Arushi’s advocacy led to the opening of India’s first disabled-friendly bank – a branch of central Bank of India in Bhopal.
World-Famous Sanchi Stupas Made Accessible
Archeological Survey of India, at the behest of Arushi, has made the Sanchi Stupas accessible to the disabled.
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Ramps at the Bhopal Haat for persons with disability. |
Barrier-Free School, Sehore
Arushi is closely working with Gudbhela Government School, Sehore and has converted it into an inclusive school. The school has ramps and railings, accessible drinking water facility, disabled friendly toilet etc. Besides, it also has computer with text to speech screen reading software for the visually impaired; study material in audio; and above all receptive and cooperative teaching and non-teaching staff.
Disabled-Friendly Toilets
Arushi, in association with UNICEF has come up with inclusive models of sanitation for schools, Anganwadis and households in rural and urban areas. Disabled-friendly and child-friendly toilets and toilet complexes have been constructed in government schools, Anganwadis, and at other visible locations as models for replication in the districts of Bhopal Sehore, Dewas, Dhar, Jhabua, Mandsore, Guna and Shivpuri. Both at state and the district level, sensitization, awareness and capacity-building programs for different stakeholders like architects, construction workers, and officials of PWD, PHED, School Education Department, Women and Child Development Department have been organized to involve these agencies total sanitation campaign and disability issues. The issues have also been raised in conferences at nation and international level notable amongst these are a paper on Inclusive Models of Sanitations at 32nd WEDEC conference in Colombo, and a presentation at the Prime Ministers' Conference, New Delhi.
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