How friendly are living spaces for PwDs?

Travails of the visually impaired in a haphazard urbanscapeMorung Express NewsDimapur | October 15 How disabled-friendly are community spaces? It is not that convenient, as per testimonials from people living with disabilities.Chingdang, a visually impaired high school student from Dimapur, recounted an unsavoury fleecing incident involving an autorickshaw driver. He handed Rs 500 to the driver for a trip worth Rs 50. The driver claimed he returned Rs 450, but he found only 400 rupees in his pocket at home.Chingdang shared the experience at a Disability Awareness and Sensitisation Programme held in Dimapur on October 15 to commemorate White Cane Safety Day under the theme ‘Small Actions, Big Inclusion.’ The event was organised by LIC HFL Sarthak and Prodigals' Home in collaboration with Tikvah Training Centre and Sign Reach Bilingual Ministry, at the Traffic Control Room of the Dimapur police. “Knowing that we have disabilities, they took advantage,” he said, while adding that commuting on foot has its unique challenges, including haphazardly parked vehicles blocking footpaths. He was once hit by the side mirror of a car. According to him, the driver did not even show the courtesy to stop and apologise.Chingdang appealed to the community and law enforcement to take concrete steps toward accessibility, while calling upon newspapers and media platforms to run awareness campaigns to build an accessible town. He asked the traffic police to implement parking regulations strictly, and issue safety advisories for persons with disabilities. “If non-disabled people face such traffic obstacles, think about the disabled,” he said, asking drivers and authorities to help ensure blind commuters can move through town without fear.Traffic police personnel participating in a roadside demonstration held as part of the White Cane Safety Day Disability Awareness and Sensitisation programme in Dimapur on October 15. (Morung Photo) For Initoli, a university graduate working as a computer instructor, Dimapur contrasts with Delhi and Bengaluru, where she studied. She said that these cities had proper footpaths, well-informed public transport drivers. In Dimapur, the travails of the visually impaired are not limited to daily commute alone. She said that shop-keepers ignore her price queries, answering only her sighted guide. There are times when they would slip in spoiled vegetables into her bag when out shopping alone. While commuting, she gets charged inflated fares or gets dropped far from her destination.Initoli recalled one road incident walking with visually impaired peers when a car ran over her cane. “The driver did not say sorry. He drove straight off,” she said, leaving her with a ruined stick. “Some cars have no sound either. Many cars come silently, passing by so close without us even knowing,” she said, adding that drivers seldom sound horns to alert pedestrians.While calling on motorists to exercise basic civic responsibility, she urged drivers to use their vehicle horns when approaching pedestrians. She also appealed to autorickshaw drivers to recognise the white cane, charge standard rates, and ensure the visually impaired people like her are dropped at their exact destinations. Initoli asked the community at large to look beyond symbolic observances. She urged the public, transport unions, and police personnel to take note of their lived realities and spread awareness so that Dimapur becomes an accessible city where people with visual impairment can navigate with safety and dignity.Special educator Mhasivino Khale spoke on ‘Social and communication etiquettes,’ explaining that a ‘white cane’ serves as an extension of a visually impaired person’s body and must never be handled or grabbed without permission. The appropriate way is to ask before offering assistance rather than acting on assumptions. She said that it includes respecting personal space, speaking directly to individuals with disabilities rather than their companions, using normal adult conversational tones, and showing the courtesy to inform them before walking away during a discussion.She cited an incident in Mumbai where a well-meaning passerby grabbed a visually impaired student who was simply enjoying the evening sea breeze and led her across a busy highway she had no intention of crossing. Khale pointed out that commuters also face inappropriate physical contact in public transport from people taking advantage of their lack of sight. Addressing the gathering, ACP Traffic, Dimapur, Zubenthung Lotha stated that road safety involves all users, including pedestrians, street vendors, and animals. He urged drivers to follow traffic rules, respect pedestrian crossings, give way to commuters needing extra time, and keep footpaths clear of parked vehicles. The ACP claimed that the traffic police are on the job to spread road safety awareness across Dimapur to prevent accidents.Prodigals' Home Director K Ela called on government departments, transport bodies, and civil society to issue formal safety advisories and repair broken roads and ditch-ridden paths. She appealed the traffic personnel in the field to keep watch for people carrying white canes and step in to help them cross roads safely. According to her, inclusion requires practical measures beyond a single commemorative day.Temsurenla, Founder Director of Sign Reach Bilingual Ministry, served as the sign language interpreter for the event.