Hear a whistle? Someone needs help

The next time you hear a whistle from a passerby or a pedestrian, look again, for it might be a visually challenged person seeking help.

The City police, along with the Indian Disability League (IDL), an NGO, distributed a whistle and an audio wrist watch each to 50 visually impaired children on Helen Keller Day here on Thursday. “The visually challenged can blow the whistle to ask for help from passerby,” P K Paul, IDL Trustee, said.

Circulars have been sent to all police officers to extend every possible assistance to the visually challenged, Commissioner of City police B G Jyothi Prakash Mirji said. “While on duty, police personnel come across several blind people. They can voluntarily help them to cross the road, board a bus or reach a particular address. It’s not only our duty, but also a moral obligation,” he added.

At the event, several visually challenged members from the NGO spoke about the challenges they face while commuting daily. One of them, Parshwanath said, “At some bus stops, the traffic controllers don’t assist us in identifying a bus. As a result, we are forced to wait at the bus stop for hours and our time is wasted.” Harish, another member, suggested that BMTC buses instal seat-belts in the seats reserved for the differently abled.

Mirji admitted that the City lacked infrastructure to accommodate the visually impaired. He said that he would talk to the stakeholders concerned in the City administration in this regard.

“In some countries, public buildings and transport services have regular announcements or instructions in braille at designated spots. We can employ similar methods here so that daily commuting is less taxing for the visually challenged,” he suggested.