Less than a week after the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) apologised to actor Sudhaa Chandran for the harassment she faced with her prosthetic limb at the airport and assured that their personnel will be “sensitised,” the Ministry of Civil Aviation issued a draft of accessibility standards and provisions of facilities for persons with disabilities in the civil aviation sector on Tuesday.
The ministry has also invited comments and suggestions on the draft within three weeks, following which the final guidelines will be issued under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Rules, 2017.
Sudhaa, who is a popular Indian film and television actor and an accomplished Bharatanatyam dancer, had her leg amputated after she met with a road accident. However, the actor continued dancing after being fitted with a prosthetic leg.
On October 21, Sudhaa took to her Instagram page and posted a video addressing Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which she shared how she gets “grilled” at the airport each time due to her prosthetic limb and mentioned how this is “hurting.”
The actor added that each time she is stopped at the airport, CISF officers to do an ETD (Explosive Trace Detector) on her artificial limb and still ask her to remove her artificial limb and show it to them. “It is disheartening and humiliating when I am told to show my artificial limb or asked to remove it,” she said in the video.
Sudhaa further requested the government to issue a “certificate or chain” to people with prosthetic limbs for easy travelling.
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A day after posting this video, CISF took to Twitter and apologised for her experience. The security force also assured that its personnel will be sensitised to ensure no inconvenience is caused to travellers.
Now, the Ministry for Civil Aviation has followed this up with the draft of accessibility standards. As per the draft, the accessibility features to be provided by all airport operators, including airports managed by the AAI and private ones, shall include: accessible parking and drop-off/pick up points with reserved parking near the terminal building for persons with disability; accessible route or approach such as walkways, entrance, road crossings, help desk, check-in counter, security check area, lifts, toilets, immigration and custom counter accessible by wheelchair; aerobridge and ambulift; low floor buses and ramps.
The draft comes with pictured examples and floor blueprints as examples for each guideline. It also mentions standardised training and audits for all staff.