India has around 80 million people with disabilities, but it lacks the suitable infrastructure to meet their everyday requirements. And this often leads to inconvenience for people with disabilities.
In a recent incident reported by TOI, two disability activists travelling from Kolkata to New Delhi have accused the Kolkata airport officials of humiliation.
One of the activists, Jeeja Ghosh who was also the poster girl for the Election Commission’s 2019 campaign, suffers from cerebral palsy and was allegedly told by GoAir officials that she could not travel unaccompanied.
Jeeja Ghosh felt very humiliated by this as she has travelled alone all over the world in the past.
Talking to TOI, she said:
I had requested for a wheelchair, but that took ages to arrive. When I contacted the airline, the person who answered said they were short-staffed. When I finally managed to reach the check-in counter, the staff said I could not fly unescorted and that I would have to wait till others arrived.
Another activist, Kuhu Das, who is a polio survivor and wears callipers on her legs was asked to take off her pants for an inspection by CISF officials.
Das, who had never faced this kind of behaviour previously, was shocked at the officials’ statement. In a conversation with TOI, she said:
For a moment, I couldn’t believe my ears. It was absolutely shocking and utterly humiliating. I have taken so many flights but never been asked to do what the officer did on Sunday.
Both these activists were flying to Delhi for a meeting on the rights of disabled women.
After the incident, airport officials apologised to the women and made it clear that they did not intend to embarrass them.
In a conversation with BBC, Das talked about the discrimination meted out to people with disabilities. She said:
We protested, we said this was discriminatory, so the person at the check-in counter apologised. But we are not angry with her. It’s not an individual problem. It’s how an airline treats a person with disability.
The concerned airline also issued a statement and apologised for any kind of inconvenience caused to the passengers.