The blind showed the way to the sighted in the 15th annual blind car rally that started from BPA building in the city on Sunday morning.
The blind showed the way to the sighted in the 15th annual blind car rally that started from Blind People Association (BPA) building in the city on Sunday morning.
A total of 104 cars participated in the rally that was organised jointly by the Blind People's Association and Round Table 40.
Of the 104 cars in the rally, 15 were specially designed cars whose navigation was done by visually handicapped people. They typed the instructions for the route in Braille and handed them over to the participants.
"This is a unique experience. Normally it is the people with normal sight who show the way to the blind. But today the blind will guide those with normal vision," said Satyavrat Arya, chairman, Round Table-40.
Milap Shah, who was participating in the rally as a driver, said the experience is absolutely fantastic. This was his first time at the rally but his navigator, Ashwin Thakkar, was more experienced. This was Thakkar's eighth rally. He said he was a student at BPA when he was first chosen for navigation.
"It was thrilling. I got many prizes," said Thakkar at the end of the race. He now works at Cama Hotel.
Three elements - time, speed and distance - were taken into account to judge the driving skills of the participants. There were eight marshal points along the 72.6-km-route and there was a specific time frame in which all the cars had to cover the eight segments. Reaching a marshal point a minute early or a minute late meant negative marks.
The organisers had included different areas in and around Ahmedabad and even the riverfront to make the route as challenging as possible. Dust tracks in Ellisbridge and 10 bridges formed part of the route. Horse riding was also part of the rally. Participants had to ride a horse near the SP Ring Road, get back into their cars and then continue in the race.
The rally was flagged off by mayor, Asit Vora, who was also participating in the rally. Commissioner (disabilities) Sanjay Nandan, Ahmedabad police commissioner SK Saikia, and charity commissioner Sharmishta Dave were also present at the flag off ceremony.
The prize distribution ceremony was held in the evening with three top racers receiving a prize each. There was a prize for the women's team and one for the differently-abled.
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