Para-athlete forced to sleep on train floor:
Medal-winning Indian para-athlete Suvarna Raj on Sunday alleged that she was allotted an upper berth on the Nagpur-Nizamuddin Garib Rath Express despite having mentioned her disability when booking her tickets. As she could not access the berth and her request for a lower berth was ignored by the TTE and fellow passengers, she was forced to sleep on the floor of the train.
Taking serious note of the incident, Union Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu has ordered an inquiry.
Ms....
more... Raj, however, said she wanted “permanent solutions”. “I want Mr. Prabhu to travel with me and see for himself the problems that differently-abled people face in a train,” Ms. Raj told The Hindu .
Co-passengers of no help
Recalling her ordeal, the wheelchair-bound athlete said, “I boarded the train at 8:45 p.m. on Saturday and was allotted an upper berth. I requested the TTE multiple times for a change of berth, but to no avail. He then disappeared. My co-passengers also did not seem interested in helping me. Eventually, I was forced to spend the night on the floor,” said Ms. Raj, who suffers 90% disability due to polio.
I am unable to understand how callous the co passengers turned on, refusing to help a 90% disabled girl