 This is 2017, I'd like to ask how disabled-friendly are we really as a nation? It is shocking that in the 21st century to people with disabilities cannot travel by trains because they're inaccessible ATMs are not designed to be used by persons with disabilities. I think the question to be asked is that How disabled-friendly I am then to the question to be othered how disabled-friendly is my nation? roads and Footpaths even if they are smoother than they are right now, and we have less hurdles Supreme Court in a statement last month said That the produce committee should go to special schools and not Normal integrated schools city is full of shopping malls, but you know shopping malls there I'm sure they they have a lot of money and just a little bit of Extra funds and they can make it accessible You see as it is infrastructure. Yes, of course, there is a challenge all together all around so that means the infrastructure is disabled So if I become disabled-friendly with the infrastructure and instead of waiting for infrastructure to rise up to my expectation I change and I empower and build my inner confidence To maneuver the infrastructure in a way that still it is not becoming a challenge or a hindrance or obstacle for me to leave the veil I wish to live my life. That means that I have become disabled-friendly something that can be immediately taken care of to ensure that India becomes more accessible in the coming years are ensuring that the railways become accessible at least in Starting off with say five major cities where both the trains and the stations are accessible and then After the pilot project skinning that up to other other cities in the country secondly ensuring that whenever a new public transport infrastructure like a bus is bought That it is accessible. It doesn't make sense to buy something inaccessible Now a person who participates in a marathon is doing two things He's completing a distance which he was feeling that he will not be able to do we by Handholding each other making that person to cover it the one once he completes a distance He realizes that it was my mind which was stopping me. I have the abilities I did it and that public who were keeping their perception age-old perceptions related to karma and wrongdoing towards disability Have seen you performing much more than what they with all the body parts intact can do So their perception toward disability is changing their perception towards, you know this type of a mindset is getting converted Universities themselves are not disabled friendly so far. I aim to be an independent blind woman and when I'm on the road I largely have to rely on How friendly people would be and how how aware it would they be of my cane and of my You know how aware and sympathetic both ensuring that India's IT policies include that The internet becomes accessible to the blind whenever any commercial enterprises set up before it gets a completion certificate It requires a fire NOC Why not for enterprises above a certain size have a mandatory accessibility NOC to before a completion certificate is given Why not design ATMs in such a way that they are accessible to people with disabilities? I think that's something which is very simple to do. It's just that the basic design structure that needs to change on world disability day 2017 10 years after India's signed the United Nations Convention for rights of persons with disabilities and one year after India's Past a new law the rights of persons with disabilities act 2016. What I would really like to ask is are we free?