We come across a lot of incidents time and again, where public places do not have proper provisions for the specially-abled. The lack of these basic facilities make the places around us less inclusive, and it’s almost shocking when it happens in places which are otherwise equipped with a proper infrastructure.
Another such incident took place, when an artist, Sarita Dwivedi was denied boarding with her wheelchair at the Bangalore airport.
She shared her experience on Twitter, adding that the she was supposed to fly with Alliance Air, when the staff didn’t let her travel with the Motorized Wheelchair. The artist also mentioned that the staff was inconsiderate, and she was asked to cancel her ticket and book another flight. This is not only shocking, but also extremely insensitive.
Worst day of my life. It was 4 kinds of harassment in 1 day, mental, emotional, physical and financial.
-Sarita Dwivedi
Understandably, it was a terrible experience, which also resulted in the waste of her time and money. Sarita Dwivedi also mentioned that the airline hasn’t initiated the refund yet. She also asked the staff about how they will manage to get the wheelchair to her from the Bangalore airport, and they didn’t have a provision for the same.
It is almost a shame that airports and airlines are still inaccessible, despite all this growth in infrastructure. We are a lot behind when it comes to sensitivity, and it’s time that we catch up.