Shillong: A group of organisations representing persons with disabilities on Friday organised a signature campaign at Khyndailad, Shillong city.
The aim of this campaign is to demand the government of Meghalaya to pay heed to the plight of persons with disabilities who don’t have accessible transportation.
Speaking with EastMojo, Jitendra Dkhar, managing director of Blind Lead Trust Organization which looks after visually-impaired people, said the government should figure out a way of transportation for persons with disability.
“Demand for accessibility of transportation is an important issue and our demand is not only for persons with disability but for senior citizens, pregnant women and several others who face difficulty,” said Dkhar.
The organisations that have joined hands for the signature campaign are Meghalaya Deaf Association, Khasi Disabilities Association, Meghalaya Liberation for Visually Impaired, Barefoot Trust, National Center for Promotion and Empowerment of Disabled People and Blind Lead Trust.
Dkhar added that persons with disability, especially the visually impaired, worry about traveling alone due to lack of footpaths and the presence of potholes which pose a risk.
According to Social Welfare Department website, there are approximately 44,000 persons with disabilities in Meghalaya. The organisations are hoping that Meghalaya will be a “barrier-free environment” which enables people with disabilities to move about safely and freely, and use all facilities within the built environment, roads, parks, gardens and other places. Barrier-free design should be incorporated to access disabled persons, they said.
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