A video of a Differently-abled Chartered Accountant sharing his experience of riding in the newly launched Metro services in Mumbai has gone viral on the internet.
In the video, a person with a disability buys a metro ticket by himself and travels by metro in the capital city of Maharashtra. The video was posted by CA Chirag Chauhan who lost his legs during a series of blasts across railway stations on 11 July 2006. Chauhan shared his journey through the metro station and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for building accessible infrastructure for persons with disabilities.
After 11 July 2006, first time travelling by train #MumbaiMetro.
— CA Chirag Chauhan (@CAChirag) January 24, 2023
Thank you @narendramodi from Mumbai Suburbs
Person with disabilities does not want 80U deduction, we are happy to pay tax if we get accessible infrastructure @nsitharaman #Budget2023 pic.twitter.com/GBzTZBmR8s
“After 11 July 2006, the first time travelling by train in Mumbai Metro. Thank you PM, Modi, from Mumbai Suburbs. A person with disabilities does not want 80U deduction, we are happy to pay tax if we get accessible infrastructure,” he tweeted. He said that he was travelling for the first time since the accident in which he lost the ability of his legs and that it was a smooth journey throughout the Mumbai Metro.
Chauhan in the video mentioned that there was a separate ticket counter for the specially-abled people at the Metro station and that there was easy access to the elevator lifts which made commuting easy for the specially-abled travellers. He also said that he could conveniently board the train without anyone’s help and thanked PM Modi for providing accessible infrastructure for divyang-jans.
The Maha Mumbai Metro has made sure that wheelchairs, ramps, and elevators are easily accessible to assist the specially-abled people intending to commute through the Mumbai Metro. Tactile paths are also provided for visually impaired commuters, to guide them throughout their metro journey.
CA Chirag Chauhan’s life changed when he was 21 and travelling between Andheri and Santacruz in Mumbai in the year 2011. He lost suffered a debilitating spinal cord injury in a series of blasts across railway stations on 11 July 2006. “It took me a very long time to come to terms with my injury and everything that had happened. Until then I had not even heard the term paraplegic,” he said to Better India.
He went through massive hours of physiotherapy and recovery sessions daily and prepared for his CA exams side by side. He faced all the hurdles then and cleared his exams in his first attempt to be called a Chartered Accountant.
