S M Arun, TNN | Mar 21, 2013 COIMBATORE: The new series of 50 paise, 1 rupee, 2 rupee and 5 rupee coins launched in July 2011 have left blind people across the country in a spin. They say the new coins (introduced with the new rupee symbol) are so indistinct from each other that differentiating between them is a task. "The shape and size of all these coins seems almost similar. So we are unable to differentiate it from size," A David Vincent, a visually-challenged youth told TOI. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/coimbatore/New-coins-leave-visually-challenged-in-a-spin/articleshow/19100562.cms He said without help of others it is hard to differentiate between various denominations. Though blind, people like Vincent say the unique wavy rim of old 2 rupee coins and the rims of Rs 5 and the Re 1 coins were so distinct that these almost worked like braille for them and helped them identify the denomination. "The new series of coins have reduced the unique design of all these coins to a standard circle making our day-to-day life difficult," he said.
The Re 1 coin with the thumbs-up sign and cross sign and the Rs 2 coin with the 'V' sign and cross sign that were circulated before 2011 too were not blind friendly. There is also a criticism that the Re 1 and Rs 2 coins have undergone three changes in a short period making the life of visually-impaired miserable. "Both the new Re 1 coin and the old 50p coin that are similar in shape and size are in circulation adding to the confusion," S Chezhiyan, a visually-impaired activist said. The demand for bringing out blind-friendly coins preferably using braille method is increasingly being made after the circulation of these new series of coins. "We have made repeated representations to the government and also to the Reserve Bank of India but there has been no response," says M Kamaraj, a differently-abled activist said. According to him, even people with normal eyesight are checking the new series of coins more than twice to confirm the denominations as they are not noticeably different. -- Avinash Shahi MPhil Research Scholar Centre for the Study of Law and Governance Jawaharlal Nehru University New Delhi India Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]/ To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
