Friday, June 13, 2014

Low Cost Airline IndiGo to provide dedicated stairlifts for passengers with special needs

Dear Friends,

Today, IndiGo Airlines has become the first airlines in India with dedicated stairlifts for passengers with special needs. At airports around the country that do not use ramps, IndiGo will be introducing these motorised chairs that enable passengers to board and deplane in complete comfort! 



This is no doubt a welcome step as it will help many elders and those passengers with disabilities who can transfer easily on their own but this still fails to address the needs of those who are in wheelchairs and have problems in transfers. The ramped access patented by Indigo is a better option any day where everyone walks up in an inclusive way irrespective of being  a walker or the one being pushed on manual wheelchairs by the ground service providers! Hope this facility would be in addition to that and not as a replacement to the ramps.  

So congratulations to the Low Cost Airliner and to those who would benefit from this service which is of course coming at no added cost!


Tuesday, June 10, 2014

57 Traffic Lights now blind friendly after auditory devices installed

As a result of a PIL pending in the Delhi High Court, the Delhi Traffic Police informed the Delhi high court that they have installed 57 auditory devices at traffic signals in the capital for safety of visually impaired people.

In his reply, filed before a bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, deputy commissioner of traffic police also informed that 35 more locations have been identified for providing auditory signals.

"... Traffic police has provided 857 traffic signals and 401 traffic blinkers all over Delhi for ensuring smooth flow of traffic and safety of pedestrians and other road users. A total of 57 traffic signals have been provided with auditory devices for the safety of visually handicapped persons. In addition, 35 locations have also been identified for providing auditory signals," the reply filed through Rupinder Kumar, deputy commissioner of traffic police, said.

"Besides... on roads where there is continuous flow of traffic, 22 pelican traffic signals and 36 pedestrian traffic signals are functional which have the facility to provide adequate time in the signal cycle to pedestrians for safely crossing the roads. Additionally, 96 signals with pedestrian aspects have been installed and it is envisaged to provide pedestrian aspects on nearly all the signals," the official said.

The police's reply came after the court in March had issued notice to the Delhi government and civic agencies on a plea seeking direction to provide parking space to the physically challenged near the entrances of public buildings in line with the Master Plan Delhi 2021. The bench had also asked the traffic police, police commissioner and DDA to file responses.

The DCP also said that regular action is taken by traffic police to remove illegal parking. He added that the traffic police prosecuted 7,10,025 people in 2013 and 2,96,232 in 2014 till April 30. The official also stated that action is also being taken against second-hand car dealers, who are causing encroachment on the roads of the capital.

The official said that the department had launched a special drive on May 6 in coordination with the civic agencies for removal of encroachment "on specially identified 11 vital corridors in the NCT of Delhi, in which 567 encroachments have been removed, action has been taken against 180 vendors, 159 vehicles have been towed away, 1047 vehicles have been challaned and 145 notices for obstructive parking have been issued. The drive shall continue on a regular basis".

A PIL filed by social worker Vinod Kumar Bansal, through advocates Anupam Srivastava and Sitab Ali Chaudhary, had sought the court's direction to the Delhi government and civic agencies to install auditory signals at red lights on public roads for physically handicapped people. The plea further sought directions to make pavements wheelchair-friendly.


Train with 20 Braille friendly coaches in the 100 days agenda of Indian Railways

Dear Colleagues,

Railways will launch a new train with all its coaches equipped with Braille-embedded signages on berths, toilets, wash basins and doors as part of the 100-day agenda being finalised by the national transporter.

Flagging off train to Katra, long awaited for clearance from Railway Commissioner for Safety, too is on the agenda.

Launching of the 20-coach train with Braille signages, a first of its kind, for facilitating visually-impaired passengers, will be part of the Railway's 100-day agenda to be submitted to PMO shortly, a senior Railway Ministry official said today.

The visually-impaired-friendly coaches in both AC and Sleeper classes were made on the basis of inputs received from Research Designs and Standards Organisation, Railways' research arm, and in consultation with associations for the blind.

The long-awaited train service to Katra, the base camp of Vaishno Devi shrine in Jammu and Kashmir, will soon be a reality as the Railways is gearing up to make the 25-km long Udhampur-Katra rail line operational shortly.

"The commissioning of the Udhampur-Katra line is likely to be part of the 100-day agenda," the official involved with finalising the agenda said.

Getting down to business, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked all his Cabinet colleagues to set a 100-day agenda with focus on efficient governance, delivery and implementation of programmes.

Source: Business Standard