Bengaluru NGO Makes Railway Stations Blind-Friendly
Anuprayaas a Bengaluru based NGO helps to make public spaces mainly railway stations more accessible to the blind people.
Anuprayaas is a Bengaluru based NGO that helps to make public spaces more accessible to disabled people. It was founded in 2014 by Pancham Cajla and his wife Shakti Cajla. Their aim is to "provide facilities/solutions at public places speci?cally at Railway Stations for the visually impaired." According to the last 2001 Census, nearly 22 million people in India are disabled and 10.6 million are Blind. In 2018, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD) reported that only 3% of public spaces in India are accessible to the disabled. Shakti Cajla said that, lack of navigation facilities, uneven flooring and absence of ramps in public spaces including railway stations make it very difficult for the visually impaired to travel independently.
Since 2014 , Anuprayaas has helped convert Mumbai's Borivali station, Bengaluru's KRS station, the Mysore-Varanasi Express, and a blind school in Mysore into blind-friendly. Anuprayaas crowdfunded money and worked with south-western railways, architects, researchers, and volunteers. They completed Phase I of the project in November 2015. Phase I included: 400 metallic braille signages to help with directions, braille train itinerary signage on each platform (no real-time information), braille menu cards in station restaurants, and tactile maps. The expenses were later reimbursed by the government
Shakti said that, their NGO wants to help the blind travel easily without the need to rely on help from strangers.The blind do not want to ask for help all the time. When they do, people are not sensitized enough to assist them properly. They also also educating people on accessibility and inclusion. Panchan even visited blind schools to research what changes were required.
