New concession form for disabled creates confusion

Activists objected to the insensitive language used in the form and asked for more time to avail of the new form

On Tuesday, when B. Chandrakumar went to Egmore station to book tickets to Thiruchendur, officials at the special counter told him his disability concession form was no longer valid.

“They told me there was a new form I had to fill up and get signed by a government doctor. They did not have the form, but said it was available with the reservation supervisor, one floor up,” said the 42-year-old, who is affected by polio.

When Mr. Chandrakumar made his way up the stairs, he found the supervisor was not available as it was a holiday.

Disability activists in the city are unhappy with the new form for concession as there is little awareness about it, they do not know where it is available and they have not been consulted on it.

“We had no idea a new form had been mandated from July 15. There was no attempt to inform those in the disability sector about this. Also, the form is not available online, nor is it there at all railway stations. It is not available at primary health centres or government hospitals. So, we are expected to run around looking for the form, then get it signed and then go and book our tickets,” said T.M.N Deepak, secretary, Federation of Tamil Nadu Differently Abled Associations.

Mr. Deepak said if the sector been consulted about the new form, they would have been able to avoid the confusion and create awareness. A letter to this effect was sent by the federation to the railway minister on Wednesday. The letter also objected to the insensitive language used in the form and asked for more time to be given to people with disabilities to avail of the new form.

Rajiv Rajan, another disability activist, said he had no idea a new form had been mandated.

Rakesh Misra, general manager, Southern Railway, who earlier took action to ensure the coach for the disabled on trains was not misused, said the matter would be rectified immediately.

“We will put out a notification in a newspaper in the near future, and also ensure that all sectors are informed about this and the form is made available at all special counters,” he said.

A press release issued late on Thursday said the concession format already issued on the earlier forms would continue to be valid till its expiry.

Source : The Hindu.