CHENNAI : With the cool evening sea breeze gently blowing through Besant Nagar, you could hear the sound of over a hundred white canes knocking on the tarmac. An excited hum filled the air as over 180 visually-impaired people and volunteers walked from Thalapakkatti Biryani on the beach to Olcott School. A line of four men, all armed with white canes and holding the shoulder of the person ahead of them, scrambled forward while the last could be heard grumbling, “Tell him to slow down, this is too fast for me. He thinks he’s a horse.”
The event was held on Sunday to mark the International White Cane Day, which fell on Monday. Organised by the National Association for the Blind, Tamil Nadu; New Vision Friends Club and Karna Vidya Foundation, the walk was held to show the accessibility of the beach and the solidarity between the visually-impaired participants and the sighted volunteers, said Nina Reddy, President of the National Association for the Blind.
The volunteers wore dupattas over their eyes and used the white canes as well.
“The cane helps us identify objects when we walk. It allows us to be independent, and to come and go wherever we want without assistance, much like how the sighted navigate. I’ve travelled to my hometown on the bus with the help of this,” said Sasikumar, a 26-year-old participant.
The basic model of the cane enables visually-impaired people navigate their surrounding, especially while walking. He explained that there are smart canes that use sensor technology to inform visually-impaired people about the obstacles above the waist. “The smart cane is expensive and is difficult to use here, because people keep stepping over the cane. This confuses the sensor, and so it doesn’t help us at all,” he said.
While walking along the beach, the procession was forced to cross the road near Raj Bhavan. At this moment, the Chennai Police took the lead and managed the traffic smoothly. One visually-impaired person was seen weaving through the cars handing out flyers for the passengers to educate themselves while many others held up their placards with inclusive slogans written on them, up higher.
However, the cars parked unevenly on the side of roads proved troublesome for the procession. Among the many volunteers, the class 11 students from Lady Andal School, donning their checked uniform on a Sunday evening, quickly spotted the problem and directed the participants around the obstacles. Sasikumar said that while the road is accessible, there needs to be audio aids and accessible maps for the visually-impaired to be able to navigate the beach independently, and not rely on the chance goodness of other beach goers.
“The white cane is a mobility assist. It also informs other passersby that this person is visually-impaired. Currently, the beach is not accessible for people with disability,” said Dipti Bhatia, CEO of the National Association of the Blind, Tamil Nadu.
Smart canes
Sasikumar, a 26-year-old participant, explained that smart canes are expensive and are difficult to use here, because people keep stepping over the cane. This confuses the sensor, and so it doesn’t help.