Founded by Yeshwant Rao Holkar, Umoja (Inclusion: Swahili) claims to be the country’s first online travel platform which makes finding accessible hotels easy for travelers with disabilities. “Our mission is to unlock the world of travel for over 1.1 billion persons with disabilities (PwDs) by providing detailed, dependable information about the accessiblity of hotels. By getting PwDs out of their homes and arranging stay in hotels, we also aim to kickstart a positive cycle of incentivising hotels to invest in upgrading their accessibility features to attract business,” says Holkar, who has launched the #WheelchairWanderlust competition. Here, a wheelchair user can enter to win a completely accessible holiday for up to four of their friends or family at one of the 15 destinations across India.

A visitor being welcomed at heritage hotel, Ahilya Fort in Maheshwar, Madhya Pradesh. 80% of the hotel, owned by Yeshwant Rao Holkar’s family is accessible for wheelchair users. Pics/Yeshwant Rao Holkar