Life in a metro | The Indian Express

Life in a metro | The Indian Express

Written by Satendra Singh |Updated: June 25, 2019 1:45:40 am

The writer teaches at University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi, and is a disability rights activist. Views are personal

Life in a metro

For disabled in Delhi, metro is only accessible transport. It must be made free.

Delhi’s deputy chief minister travelled in a local bus to ask women about the free metro and bus transport facilities.

In a study on fatal pedestrian crashes among persons using wheelchairs in the US from 2006 to 2012, it was found that men who use wheelchairs were five times more likely than women wheelchair users to be killed in roadside collisions. Unfortunately, we do not have such detailed data in India because of the forced invisibility of commuters with disabilities. But, we do have a 2011 Chennai-based study confirming road traffic accidents to be the main cause of amputations (acquired disability). A 2017 audit by the Centre for Science and Environment placed Delhi on the top in road accident deaths and cited the capital as most unsafe for pedestrians. Delhi is certainly not “safe” for commuters with disabilities.