HYDERABAD: A tweet about a kiosk at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport charging a flyer over Rs 1,000 for providing basic wheelchair services, has invited denizens’ ire. Calling it a breach of basic human rights of people with disabilities and the elderly, the citizens asked RGIA to waive off the amount at the earliest.
The issue was sparked after Amjed Ullah Khan, tweeted about the issue. “@sureshpprabhu Sir, Its very astonishing that @RGIAHyd is charging Rs 1000 for a wheelchair to the physically handicapped passenger..? The Airlines are not providing a wheelchair to passengers in spite of pre-request during Air booking,” he had tweeted.
The tweet sparked an online debate fetching over 94 retweets in one day. However, it may be noted that most Indian airports charge similar rates for providing quick wheelchair assistance inside the terminal.
“My own sister had knee surgery and was unable to walk. We first faced this issue when she flew in from Chicago to Hyderabad. The airline did not provide us with a wheelchair and we relied on the ones given by airport. The Chicago and Dubai airports gave it to us free of cost,” noted Amjed.
Meanwhile, a representative of RGIA maintained that wheelchair service has to be pre-booked by travellers with the airline, the airport only provides a buggy service to people in need of assistance. They also maintained that the kiosk was handed out to a third party and they had no role in pricing of such services.