NGO for the disabled urges Central Railway to have a heart, sanction Vangani FOB proposal

The Central Railways has sanctioned a proposal for a foot overbridge at Vangani near Badlapur at an estimate of Rs1.5 crore granted by the CR general manager. The move came after a joint effort for six months through a petition by Change.org, Disability Research Design Foundation, Video Volunteers and Tata Institute of Social Sciences.

Officials said the construction will begin from May 2013 as the design has been developed.
Speaking to dna, Dr Atul Jaiswal of the Tiss, who has an MA in Social Work in Disability Studies And Action and a bachelor's degree in Occupational Therapy from the University of Delhi, said, “Vangani, a small town in Ambernath taluka of Thane district, lies between Badlapur and Shelu.

There are at least 350 families with visually impaired members who stay together in a migrant community. A majority of those we see in local and express trains and platforms come from this community. They earn their livelihood by selling items of daily use in the local trains.”

Lack of a foot overbridge is endangering the lives of the disabled in this community. After the intervention of conscientious citizens, the matter was brought to the notice of railway officials.

After a meeting at the AGM office on March 12, the disabled, along with representatives of Disability Research Design Foundation, Video Volunteers and Tiss, complained about the lack of disabled-friendly foot overbridge and structures in Vangani (West), where 350 visually impaired families and 10,000 non-disabled risk their lives every day in crossing the tracks.

Specific guidelines for disabled-friendly foot overbridge were discussed, such as height of hand rail, thickness of the grip bar and assurance of use of proper tactile blocks on the overbridge and at the station. Amol Lalzare, a community correspondent from Video Volunteers who made a film on the issue, said, “It was shocking to see blind people crossing the track, risking their lives. It gave me an impetus to raise the issue in public.”

The proposal for construction/extension of the overbridge has been sent to the railway board for inclusion in the forthcoming railway budget 2013-14, assured PN Ramachandran, assistant secretary (PG) for additional general manager, CR.

@DilnazBoga