Johnson Cherian.
Medal-winning Indian para-athlete Suvarna Raj has alleged that she was not allowed to board her Delhi-Udaipur IndiGo flight on Tuesday after officials told her that there was “not enough time to scan her wheelchair” and that it was “not their fault that she was wheelchair bound”.
“I reached the domestic terminal of Indira Gandhi International Airport at 12.45 p.m. The boarding time was 1.25 p.m. It takes just five minutes to scan the wheelchair, but here I faced a long delay,” Ms. Raj told The Hindu.
‘Only in India’
“While other passengers boarded the plane, I was denied entry. I explained to them about how important it was for me to go. However, the officials said that it was not their fault that I’m wheelchair bound. They told me my wheelchair had to be scanned and there was no time for that,” she said.
Ms. Raj had won two medals at the Thailand Para Table Tennis Open 2013. She was also awarded the National Women Excellence Award the same year.
The athlete said that she never faced such issues at international airports: “Most of the time I have to face such discrimination in my own country”.
Ms. Raj said that she was going to Udaipur to attend a meeting on smart cities. “I have to board an alternate flight at 7.40 a.m. on Wednesday. The meeting is at 9.30 a.m. Sadly, I will reach there only by 10 a.m.”
She arrived late: IndiGo
“The government should ensure that scanning machines are physically handicapped-friendly,” she added.
Head of corporate communications at IndiGo, Ajay Jasra said: “Ms. Raj missed her flight 6E 751, DEL-UDR, on Tuesday as she reported late to the airport at 12.54 p.m. The counter closed at 12.44 p.m. Since she is a para-athlete, IndiGo booked her on another flight at no additional cost.”
“She seemed very happy and even clicked a selfie with us when we provided her the alternate flight,” he added.
Not the first time
This is not the first time that Ms. Raj has faced such difficulties. A month ago, the para-athlete faced harassment on the Nagpur-Nizamuddin Garib Rath Express where she was allotted an upper berth despite having mentioned her disability when booking her tickets.
As she could not access the berth and her request for a lower berth was ignored by the TTE and fellow passengers, she was forced to sleep on the floor of the train.
