Evaluation of disable friendliness of a railway transport facility in Ludhiana city of Punjab, India

Ruchi Sharma; Manoj Kumar; Amarjeet Singh

doi:10.1515/ijdhd-2012-0117

Article

Evaluation of disable friendliness of a railway transport facility in Ludhiana city of Punjab, India

Ruchi Sharma , Manoj Kumar and Amarjeet Singh

Published/Copyright: January 18, 2013

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From the journal International Journal on Disability and Human Development Volume 12 Issue 3

Abstract

Background: Barriers make an environment unsafe and cause a high level of difficulty to the user. But more importantly, barriers cause space to be out of reach, denying disabled people the opportunity of participation in various spheres of life. This ranges from education, economic, social, cultural, and other activities. Many studies have focused on the disabilities study but less research has been devoted to the specific area such as railway transport facilities. Thus, this study was done with the objective to ascertain the extent to which a railway transport facility in Ludhiana city of Punjab is barrier free for the disabled.

Methods: A pretested questionnaire (Access Survey and Audit Checklist) was used, designed by the Rehabilitation Council of India and Samarthya National Center for Promotion of Barrier Free Environment for Disabled Persons was modified according to our study environment. Various aspects of study domains were scored according to their importance of usage as described by disabled people interviewed before the commencement of the study.

Results: It was found in the study that disable friendliness of the railway transport facility remains a largely unrealized goal in Ludhiana city to date. The score obtained by the railway station of Ludhiana city was 41 and its disable friendliness was graded as average. The railway transport facility was far from being satisfactory than to be called barrier free. This loss of opportunity is not only a loss for the person concerned but also a loss for society, which misses out on their contribution.

Conclusions: Simply put, a barrier causes exclusion and its removal is necessary for ensuring inclusion and participation of all in society.

Keywords: barriers; disabled; railway transport

Corresponding author: Ruchi Sharma, Centre for Public Health, Panjab University, Chandigarh, India, Phone: +94-630-49444/161-2454327

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Received: 2012-9-28

Accepted: 2012-10-31

Published Online: 2013-01-18

Published in Print: 2013-08-01

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Articles in the same Issue

https://doi.org/10.1515/ijdhd-2012-0117

Keywords for this article

barriers; disabled; railway transport