Jaipur: The city’s main railway station, which handles over one lakh passengers daily, is facing criticism over inadequate accessibility facilities, including broken tactile pathways, non-functional lifts, inaccessible toilets and poor wheelchair assistance, for Divyang persons.
Drainange cover placed on the TGSI tiles obstructing the pathway on platform 1
Drainange cover placed on the TGSI tiles obstructing the pathway on platform 1
Ramesh Jatav, a differently-abled passenger, said he was unaware that wheelchairs were available at Jaipur Railway Junction. The assistance window is located inside the station on Platform-1 rather than near the main entrance where passengers arriving in personal or public vehicles get off.Gudiya Regar, a teenager travelling alone on crutches, said the wheelchair she tried to use had jammed wheels and was difficult to push over uneven and broken stretches of the platform. She eventually continued on crutches.Lifts at the station also have long queues and frequently stop working amid redevelopment. Manoj Verma, who runs a snack stall on Platform-3, said disruptions to electricity and water supply were common. “As the redevelopment work is going on, electricity and water lines are often damaged, leading to interruptions in these services,” Verma said.Toilets designated for Divyang passengers have broken grab handles and are too small for comfortable wheelchair access.Accessibility for visually impaired passengers is also inadequate. Tactile ground indicators are broken at several points, while drainage covers obstruct some stretches. Seamless tactile pathways between platforms are largely absent, with such indicators available mainly on Platform-1.Chief Public Relations Officer Amit Sudarshan, however, said Jaipur Railway Junction is fully compliant with the latest accessibility guidelines published in the Gazette of India. “On-duty station staff assists Divyangjan at all stations,” Sudarshan said.The CPRO said ongoing redevelopment work at the railway station led to modifications at certain locations and any deficiencies in tactile surfaces would be rectified. Sudarshan added that facilities for Divyangs and other passengers would be further improved upon completion of the redevelopment work.
