Covid-19 leaves the differently-abled at a crossroads

Ten years ago, Shubhajit Bhattacharya lost both his hands in an accident. Not one to be cowed down, he completed his schooling, and five years back, he joined The Association of People with Disability (APD) as a graphic designer.

He used to travel from his house in Hebbal to APD, which is in Lingarajapuram, by the BMTC bus. “I faced a lot of difficulties to get into the bus and get down, and there would be no seat available,” he says.

Shubhajit Bhattacharya

In 2017, he modified his scooter to ride without both of his hands. As of this day, he has completed a 30,000-km ride on his modified scooter. Difficulties notwithstanding, Shubhajit has overcome the bottlenecks in his path. But Covid-19, he says, has come as a blow to the differently-abled and their caregivers.

While Covid-19 may have normalised virtual functioning, the problems of the differently-abled have become more real than ever. Physical, financial, and psychological issues are shadowing them.

Social distancing and travelling are just not easy for them.

“This is a very difficult time for people with disabilities,” says Shubhajit. “A person who is visually challenged totally depends on touch. It is very risky when they have to use a public toilet in the current circumstances”.

“For a person on a wheelchair too, who wants to travel by taxi or auto, the same risk factor follows. Besides, people in wheelchairs, have to take the driver’s help or use the cab door as support to lift his or her body,” he adds. He feels these are some of the issues that the government needs to take care of.

Much as there is awareness among people about their difficulties, little is making them feel comfortable in society.

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Devikala uses crutches and calipers. Polio, at the age of one, had left her in need of them. Now, a coordinator of Institution Disability at the Rehabilitation and Research Department of APD, she said the pandemic has left the differently-abled persons looking at an uncertain future. The situation is worse for the differently-abled elderly and those staying alone, she added.

“Due to Covid-19, many differently-abled people and caregivers are suffering because of the lack of certain services. They are unable to get their regular check-up done by doctors, receive physio, occupational and speech therapies, and counselling,” she said.

“Moreover, when it comes to financial concerns, differently-abled persons are not receiving a pension for one year,’’ she said. “We are unable to get proper aids and appliances, hearing-aid batteries, and other equipment that we need. Expenditure is rising, especially that of the hygiene kit, for the caregiver and their families.”

“Many of these people do not have money to get laptops and other gadgets to work from home. A lot of them have lost their jobs. Covid-19 has also led to a rise in travel expenditure for them,” she added.

For the differently-abled, while an inclusive society is still not a complete reality, Covid-19 has masked their issues more than ever.

“I do agree there are some challenges in Bangalore but they are being resolved,” explained V S Basavaraju, State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, elaborating on the non-availability of pension for some.

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In the last six to seven months, he said, they have received applications from about 15,000 plus people having difficulties in accessing the pension. “We have procured it. For around 6,000 to 7,000 people, we have various difficulties because many of those working on this, particularly in Bangalore, have had Covid-19. We are trying our best to pursue this,” he said

The reasons for non-availability of pension, are particularly because “we don’t have the grassroots-level staff in Bangalore city unlike in rural areas. We need some documentation as evidence on non-compliance of services," he said.

"We have recently appointed taluk nodal officers. They are all class II officers and their job is to coordinate. I had initially held a meeting with them and had given them the list of Persons with Disabilities to attend and resolve the problem. We are doing our best.”

Getting medical help on time is the biggest challenge right now, averred Shubhajit elaborating that it is because of frontline warriors like police, health workers, NGOs, and some others that differently-abled persons are getting some kind of health support.

He emphasised that when it comes to differently-abled persons, there needs to be more acceptance from society and the government. “Government policies need to be more detailed. There need to be more facilities like pension increments for people with disabilities to maintain their daily needs. What we need is a more detailed plan and commitment to supporting people with disabilities,” he said.

Regarding the complaints on the hurdles in front of the differently-abled to get a medical check-up, Basavaraju said, “As one knows, many of the large government hospitals were blocked for Covid-19 patients. During that time, there were some real challenges. Basic solutions were made available through PHCs. Now, the hospitals have all opened up and normalcy is almost coming back.”

Talking about how best these issues can be solved, he said, "Certainly, the government can appoint people, the government can give them resources. But accountability is always an issue, particularly, the last-mile connect."

He informed that he is also working with parent bodies, NGOs, and network organisations, and has been requesting many parent bodies that they also need to put more pressure on the system. “The parent body has to start taking ownership,” he said. “People also need to do their part of the job -- application has to be put in, and it has to be pursued. Once the system starts working, it largely benefits. Until then, there is a struggle and consistent efforts are needed by all stakeholders.”

Basavaraju elaborated on the best that needs to be done to make life less difficult for this community.

“We should also work on how to best make the government system accountable. Some NGOs start doing things on their own. People find it easy to go to them for various reasons. This is taking responsibility away from the government system” he added.

"The grassroots-level job is always tough and time-consuming but things are far better now,” he said, emphasising the need to have a twin approach. “We need to build the perspective to government machinery and push.”

For the differently-abled persons, Covid-19 has created more barriers. Caregivers are not having it easy either. “I empathise with the caregivers. They deserve more support and attention from all of us. There are real issues,” Basavaraju said.

“We are pushing for support programmes – for transportation, financial benefits, etc. We have been seeking support from the judiciary as well. When they don’t get the benefit they need, they should approach the court. If we don’t bring in multiple layers, implementation becomes an issue.”

Meanwhile, Shubhajit, who has done his counselling diploma to help differently-abled people, will be receiving the ‘Student Innovation Award 2020’ from IGNOU soon.

Shubhajit, who supports fundraising teams to get donations to run APD programmes, during the lockdown supported more than 600 families by providing them with groceries, made milk available for more than 50 children, and distributed 2,500 masks to the daily-wage earners.

While the differently-abled and their caregivers are hoping that things will turn around, there is much left to be desired.

Urging that NGOs to maintain a list of grassroots workers, Basavaraju said, "What I have to request the NGOs and parent bodies is that we have a law and guidelines in place, we have resources and we have appointed people, please make them accountable. Give us in writing because in government, if I don’t have a piece of paper as evidence (documentation as evidence on non-compliance of services), it’s very difficult for the system to make them accountable."

“Most importantly, move from basics to fundamentals like a quality educational intervention for differently-abled children, demanding therapies such as physio, speech and occupational therapy,” he summed up.