you have covered everything. great work. keep it up.
At 03:47 PM 5/17/2008, you wrote:
>Dear Friends
>
>
>Finally the 8th draft dated 24th April 2008 has seen the light of the day
>after the Ministry of Civil Aviation cleared it to become the new CAR
>Guideline on Carriage of People with Disabilities and People with Reduced
>Mobility effective 01st May 2008. *The New CAR is available at
>http://www.dgca.nic.in/cars/D3M-M1.pdf*
>
>
>I am attaching a brief assessment of the New CAR viz. Good Points and Issues
>that still needs to be addressed (Loop Holes). There might be few other
>areas that I might have left and you may be able to point them out.
>
>
>
>*I would request you to kindly provide your inputs so that we jointly can
>fight for rectifying the shortcomings together.*
>
>* *
>
>* *
>
>*Good Points included in the DGCA's New CAR *
>
>*effective 01 May 2008*
>
>
>
>1. To remove confusion between People with
>disabilities/People with Reduced Mobility and Sick/medically ill passengers,
>the new CAR has defined the *Incapacitated Passengers as those with medical
>condition* and Persons with Reduced Mobility (PRM) and Persons with
>Disabilities (PwDs) as those whose mobility is impaired/reduced when using
>transport (Ref Section 3).
>
>2. It mandates that no airlines will refuse to carry
>PwD/PRM and their assistive aids/devices, escorts & *Guide Dogs*.
>
>3. Emergency Evacuation procedures and Training on handling
>PwD/PRM shall be included in Airline's Training & Safety manuals.
>
>4. *Only trained persons shall be assigned to assist and
>handling* the passengers with disabilities.
>
>5. All Airlines *will assist those who wish to travel alone
>without an escort (Ref. para 4.8)*
>
>6. Barrier Free Access, accessible toilets and Assistance
>Booths close to the entrance (within visible proximity at arrival/departure
>terminals) with International symbol of Disability at the Airport are
>mandated in 4.10
>
>7. No limit on number of PwD on a flight. Equal choice of
>seat allocation.
>
>8. No medical Clearances of special forms shall be insisted
>from PwD/PRM.
>
>9. All assistive aids shall be provided *without any extra
>costs *to the passengers.
>
>10. Pwds/PRMs including Blind passengers shall not be restricted
>to any particular cabin or seating areas. *Guide Dogs are allowed in the
>Cabin* with prior information.
>
>11. Individual briefing to PRM/PwDs /their escorts before take
>off by senior cabin crew of airline. Blind passengers to be provided *Braille
>brochures and large print brochures besides verbal briefing*.
>
>12. Once ticket is confirmed, no further enquiries shall be made
>(Para 9.5).
>
>13. In case of loss or damage to the mobility equipment during
>storage and handling, the airlines shall be liable for providing *suitable
>compensation.*
>
>14. *Assistive Aids and Devices can be carried as hand
>baggage*in the aircraft (Ref: note to para 7.5)
>
>*15. *In-transit offloading- in case of overnight halt,
>the *accommodation
>provided should be accessible and barrier free.*
>
>
>
>
>
>*Issues that need to be addressed:*
>
>* *
>
> 1. Para 4.6 "Passengers who declare independence in feeding,
> Communication with reasonable accommodation, toileting and personal needs
> are allowed to travel without escort." *This section is discriminatory
> against people who require some support in areas of feeding and personal
> needs etc and it gives a right to airlines to disallow the passengers to
> fly, if they don't declare independence. We feel that this para looses its
> relevance in light of para 4.8 which is an
> enabling and positive para. Thus
> in view of this para 4.6 should be deleted in toto.*
> 2. Para 4.9 -People not holding any Disability Certificate also to be
> given all facilities *but at a cost. This is not acceptable since
> Government of India has so far has failed to
> provide Disability Certificates
> to all the disabled population and many do not go to obtain one due to
> ridiculous and time consuming procedures*. Hence, *this condition will
> adversely affect them for no fault of theirs. Also the Airliners have been
> providing free services to the elderly
> people who seek much more assistance
> and support that what a blind passenger might seek. Thus this would amount
> to discrimination on the basis of disability
> and we strongly recommend that
> no additional fee should be charged from any one*.
>
>
>
> 1. *Provisions* *regarding charges for Human assistance are not
> acceptable* as devised by 6.1 (a). By doing so the person with disability
> would be put on a disadvantageous position vis-à-vis his non-disabled
> counterparts and would amount to
> "Discrimination on the basis of Disability"
> and also against principle of "reasonable accommodation" thus contravenes
> Article 9 of UNCRPD. For ease of reference Definitions of both terms are
> appended along with Article 9 UNCRPD as *Annexure A.*
>
>
>
> 1. There is an inherent contradiction in para 6 of the CAR Guideline:
> While Opening words are *"All assistive aids shall be provided without
> any extra cost to the passengers."* The first sub para 6(a) provides a
> loop hole by declaring that "Any charges for
> human assistance, if required,
> may be levied by the Airlines." Similarly sub para 6.4 (b) *seeks to
> charge for narrow wheelchair type aisle chairs* which are without
> armrests and can be moved about in the passenger cabin and can be used for
> internal mobility by persons with reduced mobility. It says "Any nominal
> charge in this regard, if levied, shall be paid by the passenger."* The
> narrow width of the passage in the aeroplane is a design fault and not the
> fault of wheelchair user. If the present passage could accommodate the
> personal wheelchairs then aisle chairs would not be needed in its first
> place. Thus the users should not be
> penalized /charged for the design fault.
> It is recommended that for all future
> procurements of aircraft, the passage,
> toilets etc having access features should be
> invariably provided. Till then
> the aisle chairs should be provided without any costs.*
>
>* *
>
> 1. The above charges under 6,4(b) also *contradict para 9.1* (Assistance
> on the plane) which provides that* All airlines should assist a passenger
> with disability to get to the toilet. *Any PRM would eventually need an
> aisle chair for internal mobility including reaching toilet. It
>also *contradict
> para 4.8* which says "*All airlines shall provide necessary assistance to
> PwDs/PRM who wish to travel alone without an escort.*
>
>* *
>
> 1. Charges for Assistance in Disembarkation at point of transfer and /or
> destination: *In para 7.7 the airline seeks to charge a nominal amount
> for request for assistance in baggage delivery and getting out of the
> airport*. This is absolutely unnecessary and not acceptable. Any charge
> for assistance in getting the baggage delivered to a blind person, for
> example, would put him to disadvantage just
> because he can not see and needs
> help to locate his/her baggage! Doesn't this amount to discrimination?
> 2. *Complaint Procedure* The role of an external agency has not been
> provided. *No time limit for complaint redressal has been given*.
> Earlier, the complaints used to go to the DGCA, CCPD. Now in case of any
> infringement of the CAR, the user can access the managing body of
> airlines/airports only who have never in past done any better thing than
> apologizing- sometimes in person and sometimes in public! *Thus we feel
> that there could be a Grievance Handling
> Body consisting of members from all
> scheduled and non-scheduled airliners at a single window as it would be
> difficult to chase different airlines individually and one would shift the
> blame on the other in case failure of interline coordination is being
> reported. Also there should be a time limit for redressal of complaint
> failing which appeal to DGCA and CCPD should lie.*
>
>
>
>
>*
>*
>
>*Annexure- A*
>
>* *
>
>*UNCRPD- Article 2- Definitions*
>
>
>
>"*Discrimination on the basis of disability*" means any distinction,
>exclusion or restriction on the basis of disability which has the purpose or
>effect of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on
>an equal basis with others, of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in
>the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field. It
>includes all forms of discrimination, including denial of reasonable
>accommodation"
>
>
>
>
>
>"*Reasonable accommodation*" means necessary and appropriate modification
>and adjustments not imposing a disproportionate or undue burden, where
>needed in a particular case, to ensure to persons with disabilities the
>enjoyment or exercise on an equal basis with others of all human rights and
>fundamental freedoms"
>
>
>Article 9 - Accessibility
>
>1. To enable persons with disabilities to live independently and participate
>fully in all aspects of life, States Parties shall take appropriate measures
>to *ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with
>others, to the physical environment, to transportation*, to information and
>communications, including information and communications technologies and
>systems, *and to other facilities and services open or provided to the
>public*, both in urban and in rural areas. These measures, which shall
>include the identification and elimination of obstacles and barriers to
>accessibility, shall apply to, inter alia
>
> 1. Buildings, roads*, transportation* and other indoor and outdoor
> facilities, including schools, housing, medical facilities and workplaces;
> 2. Information, communications and other services, including electronic
> services and emergency services.
>
>2. States Parties shall also take appropriate measures to:
>
> 1. Develop, promulgate and monitor the
> implementation of minimum *standards
> and guidelines for the accessibility of facilities and services open or
> provided to the publi*c;
> 2. *Ensure that private entities that offer facilities and services which
> are open or provided to the public take into account all aspects of
> accessibility for persons with disabilities*;
> 3. *Provide training for stakeholders on accessibility issues facing
> persons with disabilities*;
> 4. Provide in buildings and other facilities open to the public signage
> in Braille and in easy to read and understand forms;
> 5. *Provide forms of live assistance and intermediaries*, including
> guides, readers and professional sign language interpreters, *to
> facilitate accessibility to* buildings *and other facilities open to the
> public; *
> 6. Promote other appropriate forms of assistance and support to persons
> with disabilities to ensure their access to information;
> 7. Promote access for persons with disabilities to new information and
> communications technologies and systems, including the Internet;
> 8. Promote the design, development, production and distribution of
> accessible information and communications technologies and systems at an
> early stage, so that these technologies and systems become accessible at
> minimum cost.
>
>* ** *
>
>*The New CAR is available at http://www.dgca.nic.in/cars/D3M-M1.pdf*
>
>
>--
>Subhash Chandra Vashishth,
>Mobile : +91-11-9811125521
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with warm regards
Mahendra Galani
window's live ID [EMAIL PROTECTED] skype ID chintu3886
phone +4314943149 mobile +4369910366055,
address Herbst strasse 101.16.1 Vienna Austria Europe
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