50% of patients at Jaipur Foot centre are train accident victims

That's roughly 4,030 patients in 2008, who lost their limbs crossing tracks or falling off the train; Mumbai centre is the second busiest in India

50% of patients at Jaipur Foot centre are train accident victims

That's roughly 4,030 patients in 2008, who lost their limbs crossing tracks or falling off the train; Mumbai centre is the second busiest in India

Eleven people are injured in train accidents every day. The accidents occur when the victims cross tracks, or

when they fall in the gap between the train and the platform, or fall off a running train, or hit a railway pole. Railways deaths in 2008 were a whopping 3,782.

Most of those who survive the accidents lose a limb, which explains why over 50 per cent of the patients at the Mumbai Jaipur Foot centre are train accident victims. In fact, the Mumbai centre is the second-most busiest of all the 18 centres in India. Jaipur, being the headquarters, comes first.

Administrator Narayan Vyas of the Mumbai centre said that they have rehabilitated 6,450 handicapped patients since April last year.

Horrific stories

"Every day we hear horrific stories of people trying to save time by crossing tracks, but lose their leg in the bargain. More than half of those who come to us have lost a limb in a train accident," said Vyas. Diabetes claims another 30 per cent of patients, and other accidents the remaining 20 per cent.

Manjushri Bahirat from Pune lost her leg two years ago when she fell off a train. Advised by doctors to get a prosthetic limb fitted in Mumbai, she arrived at the city's centre. "I could walk within a week and the prosthetic has given me no trouble in the last two years. I'm here because it needs slight repair, which they will do at no extra cost."

The Bhagwan Mahaveer Viklang Sahayta Samiti, popularly known as Jaipur Foot centre, is a small office in KEM Hospital at Parel. Vyas who joined up three years ago spends up to 12 hours at the centre.

"Our team of six technicians work at phenomenal speed. We give priority to those who come from neighbouring towns and villages since they lack resources to stay in Mumbai for long," said Vyas. The technicians receive hands-on training at the centre before they are sent for a three-month training course to Jaipur.

Footloose and fancy free
The Jaipur Foot is both cost and time effective. What costs other institutions Rs 15,000 to Rs 50,000 to create, Jaipur Foot does in Rs 2,000. The organisation has no waiting list since it fits limbs for patients in a single day, averaging at 10 prosthetic limbs a day. The organisation relies solely on donations and has conducted camps across the world, and provided aid to over 10 lakh people since its inception in 1975.
Call 022-24140143 or log on to www.jaipurfoot.org for more details.

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