---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: Dr Satendra Singh <dr.satendra@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Feb 20, 2012 at 9:30 AM
Subject: Appeal to take suo motice notice of offloading of person with Cerebral Palsy from Spice Jet flight
To: 
ccpd@nic.in, min-sje@sb.nic.in, cvo.dgca@nic.in
Cc: AppellateAuthority@spicejet.com,
ssei@vsnl.com

To

Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities 

O/o CCPD, Min. of Social Justice & Empowerment 

Bhagwan Das Road, New Delhi-01 


(Kind attention: Sh. Prasanna Kumar Pincha, Chief  Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities)


 Sir,

 Please refer to the following news link and the attached report:

 http://www.indianexpress.com/news/differentlyabled-woman-offloaded-from-spicejet-flight/914229/1

Jeeja Ghosh, a lady with Cerebral Palsy and a teacher at Kolkata’s Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy was made to deboard the flight, put in a car and taken back to the airport.

According to Ghosh, she was taken to the airport office, where she learnt that it was the pilot, Utprabh Tiwari, who wanted her offloaded. The assistant manager and other personnel reportedly said they were helpless and had failed to convince the pilot.

As per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation’s guidelines, airlines cannot refuse to carry a differently-abled passenger. It is ironical that Ghosh was on her way to Goa to attend a conference where she was to deliver a lecture on mainstreaming the differently-abled.

Ghosh is receipent of Late Shri ND Diwan Memorial Award 2007 from the National Society for Equal Opportunities for the Handicapped in Mumbai, has done her master's in social work from Delhi University and her final degree in disability studies from Leeds University, UK. Considering the fact that she is a regular flyer (India & abroad), Mr Tiwari's inhumane act just cannot be ignored.

I appeal honorable minister to take suo motice notice of newspaper report and take serious action against the pilot and Spice Jet. I am copying the mail to Ministry of SJ&E, Directorate General of Civil Aviation, Appellate authority of Spice Jet, and Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy.

This is a serious case of human rights violation as well and I hope that you will take suo motto action on this ignorance still persisting after seventeen years of enactment of PDA Act.  

Kindly acknowledge the receipt of this email. 

With regards,

 

Dr. Satendra Singh

President, India Chapter, World Association of Persons with Disabilities

Coordinator, Enabling Unit, Equal Opportunity Cell,

University College of Medical Sciences & GTB Hospital, Delhi-95

Chairman, Equality and Diversity Committee, UCMS

http://www.infiniteability.yolasite.com/

http://enablingunit.yolasite.com/