How better pavements in Mumbai can lead to a culture shift in our perception of the differently-abled, for a more inclusive society

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Paving way for inclusive society
CHANGE NEEDED Most footpaths in the city are not easily accessible to the physically challenged, visually impaired, and
senior citizens; to become a world-class metro, Mumbai needs to become more disabled- and child-friendly, say residents
sundayspecial
Pankti Mehta
Meant to help, they are now impediments
■ pankti.mehta@hindustantimes.com
It’s hard enough being an able-bodied
pedestrian in Mumbai, with pavements
crumbling or altogether missing, paver BREACH MAHIM
blocks laid unevenly and jutting out CANDY
unexpectedly, and hawkers, shanties Ketan Kothari has diffi-
and parked vehicles forming obstruc- Parents are afraid to let culty navigating the
tions at regular intervals. their children walk on footpath.
Now imagine trying to navigate these footpaths. HEMANT PADALKAR/ HT
footpaths when you’re in a wheelchair
or cannot see. Imagine trying to get on
and off and on again as an arthritic sen-
ior citizen. Imagine your worry as a
parent of schoolgoing children walking
to class every day.
It’s traumatic, if not impossible, for
those with special needs to walk on
Mumbai’s footpaths, say experts.
“All the problems faced by able-bod-
ied people on our pavements naturally
become magnified,” says Sam
Taraporevala, associate professor of soci-
ology and director of the Xavier’s
Resource Centre for the Visually
Challenged (XRCVC), who is visually-
impaired himself. “Accessibility is a basic
requirement, and it shouldn’t difficult to
CHILDREN | RAKHI SHIGWAN (9) VISUALLY IMPAIRED | KETAN KOTHARI (43)
implement slight changes in design and Pravin Shingwan, a construc- wealthy family, so Rakhi walks that nobody gets hit by the traf- Regional programme develop- he says. “It would help to have walk.” The cane also cannot
maintenance to make the end-to-end tion worker who lives in Breach to school every day, with the fic.” ment advisor at SightSavers, a slope at either end instead. always tell Kothari when tiles
experience more comfortable.” Candy, says he cannot let his children of domestic help from For Pravin and his wife, the Ketan Kothari which promotes More importantly, though, there have come loose, so he and other
Most pavements, for instance, do not nine-year-old daughter Rakhi the plush buildings nearby. state of the pavements is an end- inclusion for the blind, lives in are all sorts of obstacles in your visually impaired people are
have the gradual incline at either end walk alone to the store down “There are fruit and veg- less source of stress. Mahim and finds it very diffi- line of walking — protruding prone to trip. “Dumpsters and
to make access easier, especially for the the road because the pavement etable shops on the footpath, “It would really help to have cult to navigate footpaths with objects such as trees planted hawkers are also a threat.”
physically challenged and visually has been completely and the little space left is taken a wide footpath that was safe his cane. right in the middle, or ditches While Kothari hasn’t been
impaired. “This is not only essential for encroached upon by hawkers, by people buying things from for children to walk or run on, “Firstly, they are often too from missing paver blocks. The seriously injured by footpaths,
the disadvantaged, but also for people forcing pedestrians onto the them,” says Rakhi. “Even when without the stress of what might high, and if your cane misses the cane cannot always detect these, he is always afraid that he will
with infants in strollers and for chil- busy street. we walk to school, the older stu- happen to them every day,” says change in depth, you can fall and leaving blind people to risk be. “The chances are high,” he
dren,” says Sanjeeta Joshi, member of The Shigwans are not a dents have to hold our hands so Pravin. injure yourself quite terribly,” bumps and injuries as they says.
managing committee at Consumer
Guidance Society of India. “Instead, old
people with knee problems are forced
to struggle on and off and on and off.”
Elsewhere, a lack of routine mainte-
nance leaves paver tiles loose and Kandivli Borivli
uneven. Padma Rao, a senior citizen
who walks with the help of a stick, said, Mayank Rokadia Senior citizens HK and
“It’s uneven, and my walking stick gets wants footpaths to have Padma Rao face problems
stuck between the loose tiles.” inclines to make it easier while walking on
According to Vidyadhar Date, pedes- for wheelchairs. uneven footpaths.
trian rights advocate and author of Traffic PRASAD GORI/ HT
in the Era of Climate Change. Walking,
Cycling, Public Transport Need Priority,
Mumbai needs a cultural change towards
greater inclusion via infrastructure.
“European and American cities are
very friendly to the disabled. Mumbai,
like many other Indian cities, has yet to
catch up. Cities should first be made child-
friendly, and then everything else will fol-
low. In New York, for example, you are
given compensation if you trip on a pave-
ment and injure yourself.”
BMC officials declined to comment.
“I understand that pavements have
become a nuisance, but in the areas
where the roads are maintained by the
MMRDA, such as JP road in Andheri PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED | MAYANK ROKADIA (48) SENIOR CITIZENS | HK RAO (76)
and the Andheri-Ghatkopar Link Road,
this is mainly due to the ongoing Metro Even with a fairly advanced built to climb up steps. I need manoeuvring himself on uneven HK Rao, a 76-year-old Borivli footpath, you have to keep way past garbage bins, hawk-
work. Once the project is completed, motorised wheelchair, comput- someone to lift the wheelchair ground, with ditches and miss- resident and consultant at the climbing up and down, which ers and parked cars strewn
we will address all the issues,” said Dilip er hardware professional onto the pavement every time, ing paver blocks, is very difficult. Indian Merchant’s Chamber, not only slows down and tires across the middle of the pave-
Kawatkar, spokesperson for the Mayank Rokadia, 48, cannot get which defeats the purpose of hav- “The wheels get stuck in often needs to walk the 100 someone of my age, but is very ment. “It takes a lot of effort to
MMRDA. “Post March-2012, when most around by himself in Mumbai. ing a machine that can help me uneven areas where the paver metres from his building to the difficult on the knees.” navigate these obstacles and
of the civil work on these roads is “It’s frustrating, because a sim- achieve mobility outdoors.” tiles have come loose. There are bus stop to commute, but the The footpath is uneven too, sometimes it is just easier to
expected to be complete, we will include ple change in the design of the Rokadia wishes the pave- also several roads with pave- short walk always leaves him which is worrying because you walk on the main road,” he says.
slopes to make these pavements suit- footpaths would enable people ments had slight inclines. “At ment on only one side of the with aching knees. have to watch every step so that “Of course, I can’t move fast and
able for those using wheelchairs and like me to be self-reliant, for the least the newer ones should road, so if I cross, I’m left “The steps here are unnec- you don’t trip and fall, says Rao. I sometimes can’t hear proper-
we will also ensure that we use the best most part,” he says. have that feature,” he says. maneouvering down the street essarily high,” he says. “And In just 100 metres, the sen- ly, so it is very frightening being
quality material, as per the specifica- “Wheelchairs and prams, are not He also complains that and that is quite scary.” since it’s not one continuous ior citizen also has to wend his at the mercy of the traffic.”
tions laid down by the PWD norms.”
Docs give baby with hole in diaphragm chance to live ‘Drunk’ GRP cop
Sonal Shukla
■ sonal.shukla@hindustantimes.com
maker.
However, a group of special-
after birth. One in 2,000 to 3,000
babies are born with this defect
THE CASE fires in local train
ists attached to Grace Maternity and generally doctors recom- ■ The baby was suffering HT Correspondent create panic amongst the com-
MUMBAI: Chetana Malde, 31, held Hospital in Kandivli reassured mend termination of pregnancy. from congenital right-sided ■ htmetro@hindustantimes.com muters, the police said.
her newborn baby boy — Meet them that the baby had a good But doctors at Grace diaphragmatic hernia, where “Katkar was drunk at the
—in her lap and realised that chance of survival. A three-mem- Maternity Hospital said it was there was a hole in the MUMBAI: A Government Railway time of the incident. His blood
she had taken the right deci- ber team from the hospital — Dr possible to manage the condi- baby’s diaphragm Police (GRP) personnel misfired reports have clearly shown alco-
sion of not terminating her Sarita Bhagwat, a paediatric sur- tion because of advances in the ■ The liver had protruded in a local train in the wee hours hol content. He was holding his
pregnancy. geon, Dr Pooja Vazirani, a fetal foetal medicine. into the chest through this of Saturday while he was on loaded service rifle in his hands
In the 19th week of her preg- medical expert and Dr Kartik “We found few subtle signs hole and was putting pres- duty. and mistakenly pulled the trig-
nancy, a sonography revealed Bhagat, a obstetrician — were that predicted that the impact sure on the lung and heart Kishan Haribhau Katkar, 46, ger,” said Shivaji Dhumal, sen-
that Malde’s unborn baby was instrumental in saving Meet. of the defect on the lungs could ■ This would have affected
who is attached with the Karjat ior police inspector of Kurla rail-
suffering from a congenital “The baby was suffering be dealt with soon after birth lung development and the GRP, was supposed to board a way police station.
defect that had created a hole from congenital right-sided and the child could lead a baby would have had difficul- train to Thane, but instead board- The railway police said Katkar
in the foetus’s diaphragm. The diaphragmatic hernia, where healthy life,” said Vazirani. “We ty in breathing after birth. ed one to Karjat. was deployed for his night
diaphragm is a muscular par- there was a hole in the baby’s were monitoring the growth of Between Sion and Kurla sta- patrolling assignment in the ladies
■ One in 2,000 to 3,000 babies
tition that separates the tho- diaphragm. The liver had pro- the baby every four weeks.” tion, Katkar who was in the gen- compartment of the local train.
are born with this defect and
racic cavity (heart and lungs) truded into the chest through On September 25, Malde generally doctors recommend
eral compartment misfired from However, Katkar went in to
from the abdominal cavity. this hole and was putting pres- had a normal delivery. After termination of pregnancy his 303 service rifle. He had not the general compartment of
“We consulted five special- sure on the lung and heart,” the delivery, the baby was put the safety lock, said the another train which was head-
ists who advised us to termi- said Bhagwat. operated where surgeons ■ The surgeons had to close Kurla railway police. ing towards Karjat.
nate the pregnancy saying that This would have affected lung closed the defect by pushing the defect by pushing the The bullet got lodged in the Katkar has been booked for
liver down and closing the
the chances of survival are development and the baby would the liver down and closing the hole with stitches.
rooftop of the train. Nobody was negligence and endangering life
almost nil,” said the home- have had difficulty in breathing hole with stitches. ■ Chetana Malde with her baby. MAHENDRA PARIKH/ HT injured in the incident, but it did or personal safety of others.