blog

RTI expose of inaccessible Delhi Post Office

Fri, 16 Nov 2012 09:18:25 +0100

The Hindu, 12 Nov 2012

Many post offices not accessible to disabled, reveals RTI query

The Times of India, 29 Oct 2012

No ease of access for disabled to post offices

The Statesman, 5 Nov 2012

Capital shocker: Post offices lack facilities for disabled

RTI: Delhi's inaccessible P.O's (SOUTHWEST Div)

India Post: “Paper Tigers” in “ease of access for the disabled”

RTI expose of inaccessible Delhi Post Offices

Still no disability policy in the capital of India

Wed, 08 Aug 2012 02:10:32 +0100

In the wake of India ratifying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) in October, 2007, it has become incumbent on India’s part, under the established and recognized international human right norms, to harmonise all its relevant domestic laws and policies with this international treaty.

Even 17 years after enactment of ‘PwD’ Act 1995, only a very few States/UTs do have some kind of a policy on disability in place, most others have none. Secondly even those very few States/UTs who have a State level policy on disability in place, it is not at all in line with the UNCRPD.

In this connection, Mr Prasanna Kumar Pincha, Chief Commissioner For Persons with Disabilities wrote to Chief Secretary of all the States / UTs, Secretary MSJE and Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities of all the States/UTs vide Ref.No.9-1(UNCRPD)/ CCD/2009 dated 15^th February, 2012.

The letter states that “all the States and UTs of India must have a progressive and forward looking policy on persons with disabilities which is compatible with the UNCRPD. In the context of a State/UT, such a policy should be called the State/UT Policy on Persons with Disabilities and not State/UT Policy on Disability. In this view of the matter, may I request you to kindly put in place a progressive and forward looking policy on PwDs which is compatible with UNCRPD. Such a policy should be put together with the active involvement of, and in close consultation with PwDs through their representative organizations. The very few States/UTs who already have some kind of policy on disability are also accordingly requested to revise the existing policy and replace the same by State/UT policy on PwDs which is in harmony with the UNCRPD. Action taken in respect of the matter may kindly be intimated to this Commissionerate.”

This was in February 2012. Being a person with locomotor disability, I am aggrieved by the lack of sensitivity of the government towards PwD. I therefore filed an RTI to know how progressive is disability policy of Indian capital, our Delhi. I was shocked to see that even after ratification of UNCRPD, NCT of Delhi does not have a disability policy. Moreover in response to Chief Commissioner’s letter above, nothing was done for full 2 months. Finally, the Social Welfare department of NCT Delhi convened a meeting in which one of the agenda was ‘disability policy’. The disability movement worldwide has a matra-Nothing for us, without us. It pained me to see that this particular meeting had only a handful of representation from PwD. What will happen in the whole country when the national capital is so insensitive?

Chhattisgarh became the first ever state to have a disability policy in 2006. The Comprehensive Disability Policy Framework for Chhattisgarh (C.D.P.F.C.) is in keeping with the international conventions and frameworks on disability, like the Biwako Millennium Framework and United Nations Standard Rules, and has been drafted in consultation with key stakeholders. This is in stark contrast to the short cuts taken by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment while framing the National Policy.

Article on my RTI report has been published in today’s ‘Millennium Post’ newspaper. In a strange coincidence, I came across Chief Commissioner for PwD, Mr Pincha, today at the orientation program for students with disabilities at Delhi University. I asked the same question (photo below) and he responded by appreciating the follow up on his official letter. I have already posted him the facts and I am sure he will look into the matter. The RTI reply is here.

Chapter in PHDCC book - Research study on employing persons with disabilities

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 06:22:13 +0100

Dr Satendra Singh’s chapter ‘Disability: A Doctor’s Perspective’ was included in the book “Research study on employing persons with disabilities” published by PHD Chamber of Commerce & Industry, New Delhi. The book was released by Hon’able Minister of Labour and Employment, Shri Mallikarjun Kharge on 27^th April 2012.

Discrimination of PwD's in getting assistive devices

Thu, 26 Jul 2012 06:10:57 +0100

"Infinite Ability IMPACT"- We earlier reported discrimination of PwD's in getting assistive devices. The report was published in Dainik Jagran and you can read it here. We followed it up with Red Cross Society headquarters and they have replied back with a hint of concern.

Infertility: Why can’t we classify this inability as disability?

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 02:44:24 +0100

Here’s a paper jointly written by Abha Khetarpal (Non-institutional expert, Enabling Unit) and myself (Founder, Infinite Ability; Enabling Unit) on infertility as disability.

Khetarpal A, Singh S. Infertility: Why can’t we classify this inability as disability? Australasian Medical Journal. 2012;5(6):316-321

Disability is a complex phenomenon. It reflects an interaction between features of a person’s body and features of the society in which he or she lives. International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF), lays stress on the functional as well as the structural problem of a person. All the definitions of disability also include the disorders of the reproductive and endocrine system. So infertility and impotency should also be included in the category of disability. It affects the participation in areas of life and can have a disabling affect on an individual. Like any other disability the couple has to adapt and integrate infertility in their sense of self thus infertility comes as a major life crisis. Medically, infertility, in most cases, is considered to be the result of a physical impairment or a genetic abnormality. Socially, couples are incapable of their reproductive or parental roles. On social level, infertility in most cultures remains associated with social stigma and taboo just like the social model of disability. Couples who are unable to reproduce may be looked down upon due to social stigmatisation. Infertility can lead to divorces and separation leading to a broken family life. Without labelling infertility as a disability, it is difficult for the people to access services and welfare benefits offered by the government. Infertility treatments are highly sophisticated so they are very expensive and are even not covered by insurance and government aid. In the light of all this it becomes imperative to categorise infertility as disability.

Read the full article here.

Comfort Care as Denial of Personhood

Wed, 18 Jul 2012 02:15:33 +0100

Here's an essay just published by Bill Peace, a disability studies scholar who has been working on bioethics. This is about his own experience while hospitalized, and he has published it in a prominent bioethics journal. The full article is available here.

Comfort Care as Denial of Personhood
William J. Peace Hastings Center Report 42(4): 14-17.

It is 2 a.m. I am very sick. I am not sure how long I have been hospitalized. The last two or three days have been a blur, a parade of procedures and people. I had a bloody debridement for a severe, large, and grossly infected stage four wound-the first wound I have had since I was paralyzed in 1978. I know the next six months or longer are going to be exceedingly difficult. I will be bedbound for months, dependent upon others for the first time in my adult life. As these thoughts are coursing through my mind, a physician I have never met and the registered nurse on duty appear at my door. As they put on their gowns I am weary but hopeful. Surely there is something that can be done to stop the vomiting. The physician
examines me with the nurse's help. Like many other hospitalists that have examined me, he is coldly efficient. At some point, he asks the nurse to get a new medication.

What transpired after the nurse exited the room has haunted me. Paralyzed me with fear. The hospitalist asked me if I understood the gravity of my condition. He grimly told me I would be bedbound for at least six months and most likely a year or more. That there was a good chance the wound would never heal. If this happened, I would never sit in my wheelchair. I would never be able to work again. Not close to done, he told me I was looking at a life of complete and utter dependence. He went on to tell me I was on powerful antibiotics that could cause significant organ damage. He informed me I had the right to forego any medication, including the lifesaving antibiotics. If I chose not to continue with the current therapy, I could be made very comfortable. I would feel no pain or discomfort at all. Although not explicitly stated, the message was loud and clear. I can help you die peacefully.

Disability Studies in Medical Education-IJUDH

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 05:10:44 +0100

A paper written by Abha Khetarpal and myself on “Disability Studies in Medical Education” has been published in International Journal of User-Driven Health Care. Read the paper here. Here’s the abstract:

Uncompassionate attitudes of doctors can have adverse impact on the already shattered emotional health of a person with disability. The medical conditions or disabilities are seen in isolation from their daily lives. The quality health care is thus compromised. Disability Studies can increase the understanding of the disabled population. The curriculum offered to medical students has an impact on their learning potential. Medical practice influences social conditions and is also influenced by society. The social background of diseases and their causation must be understood within a holistic framework. Disability studies can bring together various disciplines dealing with human pain, pathology treatment, rehabilitation, and coping skills. Medical students must have comprehensive training about complex human behaviour, ethics, and social justice. They must learn the relationships among disease, distress, and disability. Co-existence of disability studies with medicine can transform medical practice, leading to high quality healthcare. Including Disability Studies in medical curriculum would bring Medical Humanities into classrooms.

Prove your disability time and again to get assistive device

Thu, 28 Jun 2012 04:39:38 +0100

Physical, occupational, social rehabilitation and financial assistance for purchase of Aids & Appliances are provided under Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) with the basic objective to bring the target groups (which includes PwD) into the main stream of development by making them self reliant.

District RCS are preferred as implementing agencies for the Grant-in-aid under the “Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fitting of Aids/Appliances (ADIP)” Scheme, with the objective of assisting needy persons with disabilities in procuring durable, sophisticated and scientifically manufactured standard aids and appliances that can promote their physical, social and psychological rehabilitation.

I am not going into the details of “durable, sophisticated and scientifically manufactured appliances” as despite being a medical specialist I have yet to find an ideal assistive device for my locomotor disability. So let’s not divert from the main issue and see what’s the procedure for availing these assistive devices from a district RCS.

I belong to Rewari, Haryana so I contacted Rewari District RCS centre situated at Ambedkar chauk. The proforma for application for Tri-cycle/Wheel Chair/ Crutches/Hearing Aid has three parts as depicted in picture below. Let me tell you first that the main pre-requisite for a PwD to avail any benefit is a Disability Certificate (DC). Getting that is an altogether different painful story but once you get it from a medical board than you should not be paraded to confirm your disability again and again.

In Part A of the RCS form, applicant has to paste his photograph displaying full disability (despite having a DC). Then there is a Part B where the disabled applicant again has to get signatures from a SDM/Tahsildar. Once this formality is done then again the disabled applicant has to go to a doctor (despite having permanent DC) to complete the harassment. This Part-C contains information on three things- nature of disability, cause of disability and recommendation of the Doctor with regards to equipment and reason. All of these things are already given in the DC which is made by a panel of three doctors. I would like to ask why a PwD has to prove again and again that he is disabled. Once a person has been declared visually impaired/hearing impaired/locomotor disabled by a panel of Doctors than why he has to go again to three different places to procure guiding stick/hearing device/crutches.

I immediately brought this to the notice of Secretary, Haryana State Branch on May 15, 2012. When there was no response, I brought this to the notice of news daily Dainik Jagran which not only published the story on 21 June 2012 but also took the viewpoint of RCS Secretary Mr. Mahesh Gupta. I disagree with his point that these formalities are necessary. These devices are not ‘special needs’ rather a part of lives of PwD’s. These are not our luxury rather our necessity. This discrimination is denying us our fundamental right to live, (Article 21 of Indian Constitution)—which means right to live with dignity as interpreted by Supreme Court in the Unni Krishnan Case—and free mobility (Article 19 A), which we cannot fully exercise without assistive devices.

This attitudinal barrier violates and undermines the dignity of persons with disabilities which is so manifestly against the spirit of the Constitution of India, the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, and, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to which India is a State party.

The governance structure of Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS) includes H.E President of India as President of the Society, Minister of Health & Family Welfare as Chairman of the Society and a Managing Body of 18 members. The Padma Bhushan awardee neurosurgeon Dr S.P Agarwal functions as Secretary General and there is an honorary post of legal advisor as well. Despite having these outstanding persons on the board, PwD’s in India continues to suffer when it comes to procuring assistive devices from IRCS.

It is recommended that a DC should be the sole criteria to enable persons with disabilities to procure assistive devices more particularly, in the face of the fact that the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995 have been enforced for well over 17 years now. I hope that IRCS will act immediately so as to prove that their seven fundamental principles of Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary service, Unity and Universality are not just on paper but in spirit as well.

2013-2022: Asia-Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities

Mon, 18 Jun 2012 15:21:19 +0100

In what could prove to be a golden opportunity for the global travel & tourism industry to enhance its contribution to society, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) has officially declared 2013-2022 as the "Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities" and invited all stakeholders to help make it a success.

Sponsored by Korea, the resolution was adopted unanimously at UNESCAP’s 68th ministerial session held in Bangkok between 17-23 May 2012. The decade is designed to "promote, protect and ensure the rights of persons with disabilities". Many of its activities are to be funded by Korea, starting with a set of four back-to-back conferences on disability to be held in Incheon between 24 October - 2 November 2012.

According to ESCAP, the Asia-Pacific is home to around 650 million persons with disabilities, by far a much larger number than any other region of the world. Many of them live in poverty and suffer discrimination, exclusion, inequality and prejudice. The percentage of children with disabilities having access to primary education is as low as 4 per cent in some countries. Average unemployment rates of persons with disabilities are at least double those of general populations.

An ESCAP report says: "Disability associated with population ageing creates an even greater need for barrier-free and enabling environments in Asia and the Pacific. Catering to the needs of persons with disabilities can contribute to the creation of more inclusive, productive and sustainable societies in the region. Moreover, new economic opportunities can be generated through the expansion of markets that are responsive to the specific needs of persons with disabilities."

A Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) was adopted by the UN on 13 December 2006 and entered into force on 3 May 2008. The CRPD promotes a paradigm shift from a charity-based to a rights-based approach to disability and disability-inclusive development. Since then, the region has been witnessing concerted efforts by governments and civil society towards the ratification and implementation of the CRPD.

According to ESCAP, "There has been much improvement in the political, social and economic environment that has been conducive to the enhancement of the rights of persons with disabilities, and that technological advances, including information and communications technologies, have become instrumental in promoting, protecting and ensuring the rights of persons with disabilities."

The ESCAP resolution "invites all members and associate members of the Commission, international development assistance agencies and the private sector to ensure the successful implementation of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Persons with Disabilities, 2013-2022."

As Travel Impact Newswire has become the first travel media in the world to respond to that invitation and report on this significant development, the resolution provides a tremendous opportunity for the entire travel & tourism industry to follow suit and partner with the UN system in facilitating everything from barrier-free travel for PwDs to providing them with gainful employment.

Indeed, there is no shortage of efforts that can be made by airports, convention centres, hotels, theme parks, the entire transportation system and all places of interest in the travel & tourism chain to ensure accessibility and create jobs. The industry could also organise a number of follow-up conferences and events to further brainstorm ways to support PwDs.

In 1993, the Asia-Pacific became the first region to implement two consecutive decades devoted to promoting the rights of persons with disabilities. The two decades, 1993-2002 and 2003-2012, focused on the inclusion of persons with disabilities in society and in all mainstream development programmes, successfully contributing to a shift from a charity-based to a rights-based approach in related policy development and implementation.

Now, the aim of this new decade is to fully mainstream disability into development and to address both the remaining and emerging challenges faced in realizing the rights enshrined in the CRPD.

To support the implementation of a new decade, 2013-2022, Korea has proposed the establishment of a multi-donor trust fund, to be called the Make the Right Real Fund that will be based in Korea and founded on a public-private partnership.

A "High-level Intergovernmental Meeting on the Final Review of the Asian and Pacific Decade of Disabled Persons, 2003-2012" will be held in Incheon from 29 October to 2 November 2012. The meeting is expected to adopt an outcome document, which will serve as the regional action framework to guide the implementation of the new decade.

The framework will include measurable, achievable, and time bound goals, targets and indicators on poverty reduction, political participation, enhancement of access to social services, social protection, children with disabilities, gender equality, disaster preparedness and management, disability data, the CRPD and cooperation.

The Intergovernmental meeting will be one of the four conferences to be held in Incheon, with a total projected attendance of 3,000 people from 100 countries. They will be hosted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare and Incheon Metropolitan City. Key organising groups include the Korea Disabled People’s Development Institute (KODDI), Korean Society for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities (KSRPD), Asia Pacific Disability Forum (APDF) and Disabled People’s International Korea (DPI Korea).

Source- http://www.dpiap.org/news/detail.php?newsid=0000613&typeid=01

Scheme for implementation of persons with Disabilities, 1995 (SIDPA)

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 07:00:55 +0100

Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (D.O. No.16-04/2011-D.D.III dated 19.12.2011) and University Grants Commission (D.O. No.F.6-1/2012(SCT) has requested institutions to send self-contained proposals for financial assistance under Scheme for implementation of persons with Disabilities, 1995 (SIDPA) for making (a) buildings barrier-free, and (b) making websites accessible. The detailed proposal is available here.