BENGALURU: Svayam, an accessibility-proponent organisation, released a report which found that over 34% of India’s population experiences reduced mobility, including elders and those dealing with temporary or situational limitations, with up to 50% being affected indirectly.
The report reveals that of the entire gamut of persons with disabilities (PwDs) in India, only 36% are employed, and has a sharp gender gap, with around 47% of disabled men being employed, as compared to less than half with 23% of disabled women being employed.
Road travel also has key hindrance across nation, “Over 42,000 buses are partially accessible and 8,695 buses are fully accessible. Only 3,120 of 3,533 bus stations are accessible.
Less than 6% of government buses are fully accessible and only 15% of all bus stations nationwide are upgraded. Only 90 of India’s 162 operational airports are fully accessible. Many regional airports remain partially accessible making air travel challenging for persons with reduced mobility from rural areas,” the report states.