Call it body shaming of a different kind, but after being pushed to the wall, railway cops have initiated a fitting punishment for able-bodied people who board handicapped compartments of local trains
Call it body shaming of a different kind, but after being pushed to the wall, railway cops have initiated a fitting punishment for able-bodied people who board handicapped compartments of local trains. In an initiative started by Railway Police Force (RPF) at Kurla, cops are making the offenders stand on crutches on the platform till legal proceedings against them get over.
Though the exercise may seem out of the rulebook, one has to understand how difficult it has been for cops to check this commuting malaise. For years now, considerable time, effort and manpower has been invested on preventing or nabbing able-bodied commuters from travelling in handicapped bogies.
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But, fear of punishment or fines should not be what eventually stops people from attempting such offences. Commuters should cultivate a conscience and a healthy respect for the law and their disabled counterparts. The disabled or specially-abled already face a challenging time in this city. Milling crowds mean these people are relegated to the sides or even at the rear side of functions and events. We do not have disabled-friendly public infrastructure — even new buildings do not have ramps or lifts wide enough for a wheelchair. The blind have no access to public documents, as these are not in braille. In so many ways, society has simply not factored in this ‘special’ segment, so these people are always forced to exist on the margins.
While awareness is increasing, we need to be more sympathetic towards their needs. By sympathy we don’t mean showering them with pity, but enabling them to live a dignified life by levelling the playing field. We can achieve this by ensuring they at least have the recourse to a fairly comfortable commute. It is callous and criminal to impinge on the space reserved for them.
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