Differently-abled man begins wheelchair journey from Kanyakumari to Siachen to implement accessibility in public places

ANI

Kozhikode (Kerala), January 8

A Bihar native is running his wheelchair journey from Kanyakumari to Siachen in Ladakh to implement accessibility for the differently-abled in public places in the country.

Hassan Imam, a 25-year-old man in a wheelchair, has named his journey the ‘Accessible World Campaign’.

Hassan plans to bring about a change through public awareness.

Speaking to ANI, he said, “People should know that our population is 1 million.” Notably, Hassan is a graduate in Russian from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU).

Hassan has reached Kozhikode from Kanyakumari in his wheelchair crossing approximately 500 km.

He also urged the world to have wheelchair ramps where there are stairs.

He said, “It’s very bad that a differently-abled person has to sit at home only because there are no ramps in any programme.”

“Many malls, theatres, public places, government offices, etc., are still not differently-abled friendly. Be it Kerala or any other state, public transport is not accessible to people like us,” he added.

Hassan further mentioned that it was only Chennai’s Marina Beach where he had seen a ramp.

“No beach in India has a ramp. By catering to our needs a ‘New India’ can be formed,” Hassan said.