PLEASE SHARE! My campaign for accessible railways, at least the initial idea of having accessible trains, completed a year yesterday on the 3rd of January. I started this campaign because I heard of the amazing features that The Tejas Express possessed, which was supposed to be launched later on in 2017. According to the articles that I read, it was supposed to be disabled friendly for the blind and deaf, but not for those with locomotor disabilities. Immediately I recalled my experience of being molested while trying to get into the expressway trains on three separate incidences. I was molested by the luggage porters, and I didn’t utter a word because well, the government in 2008, 2011, and 2013 didn’t really care about disability enough for my voice to matter, and that’s just my personal opinion. I felt a bit more inclined to the current government because the Rights for Persons With Disabilities bill had passed in late 2016, which made me really optimistic, especially with the ongoing Accessible India campaign. I felt that the government would listen to me, so I wrote an open letter to Mr. Narendra Modi, our Prime Minister and to Mr. Suresh Prabhu, who was the Railway Minister at that time. They didn’t notice. Many publications picked up my open letter, but that didn’t really make a difference - my letter still went unnoticed. A friend suggested that I send in a complaint on their respected websites, and I did that – my complaint wasn’t even replied to. I got a generic and outrageous response from The Railway Ministry. They said, “Your grievance has been forwarded to the ministry of external affairs, because your complaint does not pertain to this particular ministry. Your case has been closed.” I was appalled. A lot of people urged me to start a petition about this cause, and I did. My petition has crossed 2.3 lakh signatures! That petition on change.org changed my life and the future of India. I was approached by a railway official and we shot some ideas back and forth about how we can make railways more accessible WITHOUT disrupting the infrastructure. It was fairly simple – provide portable ramps and aisle sized wheelchair. He arranged that. The implementation of ramps and wheelchairs were a success, plus the luggage porters were provided with sensitivity workshops by local NGOs, and female assistants were assigned to female disabled passengers – so no disabled woman would have to experience the molestation that I underwent. I’m extremely proud to say that SIX stations in the south have been equipped with portable ramps and aisle sized wheelchairs. THEY HAVE BECOME BARRIER FREE! Introducing the stations: Chennai, Trivandrum, Thirchur, Kochi, Coimbatore, and Ernakulam – these stations are all barrier free! Even more amazing news: Because of my efforts, I’ve been invited to Kerala to inaugurate the Divyangjan Project at Ernakulam station this weekend! I’m working extremely hard on trying to make sure that the same facilities that are available in the south, are provided elsewhere. I’m working with politicians in Mumbai to do the same, but it’s a slow process. I’m trying to reach out to Mr. Devendra Fadnavis, the CM of Maharashtra – and any leads would be appreciated. All I can do right now is thank you for your never ending support and love. It wouldn’t have been possible without you. #MyTrainToo is my baby and it has been nurtured because of your love and support, and I really hope you keep supporting me. Please do share this post, I know it’s long - but it’s from the heart. #DisabilityRights #AccessibleIndia #AccessibleRailways #NarendraModi #PiyushGoyal #SureshPrabhu #Railways #India #Disability