Our Correspondent
Kohima, April 7 (EMN): Mohammed Javid, a 33-year-old banker from Chennai, is on a ‘drive to save lives’ while spreading awareness about spinal cord injuries and ‘first responder care’ across the country.
‘There is a lack of awareness among the general public with regard to first responder care, which in turn has done more harm than good to road accident victims’, Javid shared with journalists in Kohima on Thursday.
He embarked on the campaign ‘MJ on wheels’ from Chennai on March 8, 2022, and has now covered 14 states already. His next destination after Kohima is Tezpur, Assam.
Javid met with a road accident in 2011, while he was pursuing his Master of Business Administration (MBA). The accident has since then led him in need of a wheelchair for support.
Recounting the trauma, he shared that he hated his ‘complete’ dependence on others for everything after the accident. He would vent his anger at everyone and could not accept his disability.
He stayed at a rehabilitation centre in Vellore for six months, which helped him become independent again. He then restarted his unfinished MBA course in 2015.
Now, through the tour, he is spreading awareness about first responder care to students, and organisations. Besides that, he also advocates for the improvement of accessibility for Persons with Disabilities (PWD) in public spaces, hotels, and regions.
There are about five ‘proper rehabilitation’ centres for PWDs throughout the country and the government needs to increase them. In this way, it can help PWDs to come out from their four walls and become independent, Javid said.
Javid, who has been behind the wheels the whole journey, said that bad roads in the Northeastern regions are particularly challenging for him to drive.
He was accompanied by his younger brother, Jasiq Zameer, an automobile engineer, and Kannadasan, a social worker.
‘The whole tour is a combination of everything, from creating awareness on first responder care to road safety, rehabilitation, and disability', observed Kannadasan who left his work at a rehabilitation centre, Vellore to accompany Javid.
Having interacted with over a hundred PWDs, he said the problem with them is ‘coming out from their four walls’.
He also said that India is not first but third in the world in traffic accidents. Every one hour over 55 accidents are happening, and in four minutes one person is dying in a traffic road accident.
From road accidents in the country, there are lives leading to disabilities and to lead a life with a disability is a ‘tough task’ in India because of the lack of accessibility and rehabilitation centres, he shared.
They have covered six states of NE already and felt the roads are ‘pathetic’ in the region which leads to accidents and more persons into a state of disability.
From their experience of the tour so far, Kannadasan opined that the life of a person with disability is ‘very difficult’ in the NE and state governments have to put a lot of effort to make their lives better.
‘With terrain and hilly natured places like Aizawl and even Nagaland, PWDs moving around in a wheelchair or any other equipment is very difficult. In this regard, governments have to take special initiatives so that places are accessible.
‘For us, it is a day trip. But for PWDs living here, they can’t move out. They have to stay in their land but their land not made accessible to them because of their disability, is injustice’, he said.
It is understandable that making 100% accessible is not possible but at least they can take some of the steps, he added.
He further pointed out that the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 is not completely implemented.
An official from State Commissioner for Persons with Disability, Ashe Kiba, earlier introduced the trio and thanked them for promoting the welfare of PWDs and spreading awareness through their tour.