Blatant violation: At Chennai Central, other commuters park their vehicles in the space provided free for persons with disabilities to park their vehicles.
| Photo Credit: R. RAGU
The Chennai Division of Southern Railway convened a meeting of the Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee (DRUCC) recently. Commuters spotlighted several issues they face daily.
The meeting was chaired by Divisional Railway Manager Vishwanath Eerya. Several DRUCC members highlighted issues, including accessibility for persons with disabilities at railway stations, other commuters occupying the parking space allotted to persons with disabilities, the need for more toilets under the Divyangjan project at stations, and better passenger amenities.
P. Simmachandran, of Tamil Nadu Differently Abled Federation Charitable Trust, complained about the lack of parking space for persons with disabilities at stations and about other commuters taking over the parking space set aside for persons with disabilities at important stations, including Chennai Central and Egmore.
10% norm
According to the railway norms, 10% of the parking capacity at a station has to be allotted for persons with disabilities to park their vehicles free of cost. While Southern Railway has allotted two parking lots at Chennai Central (near the Moore Market Complex suburban station and the northern side of the Central station), they are occupied by the vehicles of other commuters and railway workers.
He said a board had also been installed with a warning, but the other commuters violated the rule. The situation, he said, was similar at Egmore, No exclusive parking lot had been provided at the Mambalam and Tambaram stations.
Whenever the issue was brought to Southern Railway officials with a request for deputing Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel to remove the vehicles, no steps were taken. The officials did not care as the parking was free, he said.
The Chennai Division has been giving preference to escalators and not lifts. While escalators have been installed at Egmore, Tambaram, Mambalam, Chepauk, and Chintadripet, they are not safe for persons with disabilities, senior citizens, or children. Hence, lifts should be installed at all stations for persons with disabilities to have easy and quick access to all the platforms, Mr. Simmachandran said.
Lifts need repairs
He said lifts were required mainly at the important stations of Tambaram and Mambalam. He also demanded repairs to the lifts that were not working at the Mass Rapid Transit System (MRTS) stations at Chintadripet, Chepauk, Thirumayilai, and Taramani.
Mr. Simmachandran said battery cars, being operated at Central, Egmore, and Tambaram, were useful to senior citizens and pregnant women, but not persons with disabilities. Recalling that the first battery car, sponsored by a private telecom company, was introduced at Central in 2006, he said the battery cars should be operated from the parking space for the benefit of persons with disabilities. However, they were being operated at Central from platform 12. He said, “Operated from platform 12 located near the southern side of the station, the battery cars do not serve the purpose of providing access to persons with disabilities.”
A representation was given to the Divisional Railway Manager about the coach allotted to persons with disabilities being occupied by other commuters and the recent incident in which two Railway Protection Force (RPF) staff members entered the coach of the Mannai Express and assaulted a person with disabilities for not opening the door of the coach. Persons with disabilities also demanded separate toilets for them, and wherever such toilets were built, they should be opened.
Two free slots mandatory
A senior official of the Chennai Division says 10% free parking space has been provided for persons with disabilities at 74 stations in the division. While allotting parking space to a contractor, Southern Railway makes it mandatory that two slots be set aside for persons with disabilities to park their vehicles free.
Regarding the complaint about the escalators, the official says that 82 lifts have been installed at 40 stations, including Egmore, Beach, and Park, and the installation of 63 lifts is under way at 32 stations. At Mambalam, a lift has been commissioned on the West Mambalam side and one more has been sanctioned for the eastern side to link platforms 1 and 2. At Tambaram, a contractor has been shortlisted for installing nine lifts for connecting the new footbridge.
Southern Railway has provided wheelchairs for persons with disabilities and senior citizens. The wheelchairs and helpers available at all stations. A wheelchair and a helper are assigned to help a person with disabilities on producing an identification card. This is to ensure that the wheelchairs are not abandoned after use on the platforms or near the tracks, the official points out.
Published – February 11, 2025 10:58 pm IST