Kolkata : Nearly 80 percent of the commuters in local trains reported absence of facilities for the disabled at railway stations in West Bengal, said a survey released here Wednesday.
According to the guidelines issued by the railway ministry to all zonal railways, separate toilets for women and men are mandatory and it is also required that one of the toilets be disabled friendly.
“However, when we asked commuters whether they had noticed amenities for the disabled, like ramps, 79 percent said there were no such facilities,” said Shramana Majumdar of the Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) while releasing the report here.
The study, involving 1,000 local train commuters, was carried out over a two-week period in September this year by Alor Disha, a women’s forum facilitated by CFAR.
Eighty percent of the respondents were women and 20 percent men.
The findings were made available at a meet organised by CFAR in partnership with Parichiti, a society for the empowerment of women.
“The report will be made available to railway officials for their views and the survey will also be extended to metro stations and bus stops,” said Majumdar.