India’s only woman Paralympic medallist Deepa Malik took to Twitter to highlight the problems a person in a wheelchair can face while flying in India, slamming Vistara and forcing them into immediately apologising and promising better care next time.
Malik, who won the shot put silver medal in Rio, was treated ‘rudely’ and said the crew was ignorant about how to shift a person from a seat (wheelchair) to a cabin chair. She was flying from Mumbai to Delhi and the incident highlighted the exact worries Malik had highlighted in an interview with Scoopwhoop.
Deepa had said “India needs to be more inclusive of us” and questioned whether achievements will follow infrastructure for the disabled or vice-versa.
To make matters worse, an airhostess also told her, in what seems to be a condescending way, “sweetheart chill”, when Deepa was speaking with her mother on the phone to inform of a delayed flight.
Malik was in Mumbai to be felicitated by Sachin Tendulkar and Hrithik Roshan, and while that journey ended on a sour note, Vistara and the Paralympic hero have buried the hatchet.
Feature image source: Twitter