CHENNAI: Around 30 members of the Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently-Abled and Caregivers (TARATDAC) staged a protest before the reservation counter at the Mambalam railway station, after a counter staff allegedly ill-treated a differently-abled person.
A member of TARTADAC, an orthopedically challenged man, attempted to purchase a ticket for a 62-year-old differently-abled woman who accompanied him when he was allegedly turned away by the counter staff who said that the woman had to come to the counter herself, said Namburajan, state general secretary, TARTADAC. “He was also asked to prove if he was differently-abled himself since the counter staff could not see him properly through the counter glass,” said Namburajan.
He added that though the staff apologised at the end of the protest, members pushed for further action in order to ensure that the same treatment is not meted out to any other differently-abled person, he said. “There are no rules that require a differently-abled person to come to the counter himself or herself,” Namburajan said.