Societal consciousness about the needs of the physically disabled in India is depressingly dismal. In a country which boasts of charity, Dharma and what not, it is an everyday sight that people ignore the disabled brethren on the road, in the bus, in the train or, worse still, at home!

Most, if not all of our buses are disabled unfriendly. One has to climb two or three steep steps to get in. Though seats are specifically allotted to the disabled, during peak hours, it is impossible to locate them in the crowded interior.

Train journeys are even more arduous.. One has to walk miles to locate the compartment. Once there, it is a herculean task boarding it. The steps are particularly unfriendly. There are occasions when the train halts well past the platform. One will have to literally jump onto the ground. About the problems inside the compartment, the less said the better.

The writer has seen and in fact used electrically operated cars at Rail Stations and Airports abroad with effortless ease. There are no hassles in using this facility overseas.

It is indeed heartening that the Railway authorities have eventually woken up to the reality. They have chosen to introduce a battery-operated car at the Egmore station, Chennai, for the use of physically challenged and aged passengers.. It is news that a similar car is available at the Central Station as well.

This is hardly enough to solve the problem, though a beginning has been belatedly made. There are thousands of Railway Platforms throughout the length and breadth of this vast country. No disabled should be made to feel ignored. It is hoped the authorities would hasten the process of making every Station and every train disabled friendly.

H Ramakrishnan