Blind man’s PIL seeks audible announcements on all Goa’s Kadamba buses

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday sought replies from the Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC), the department of social welfare and other authorities on a PIL filed by a 32-year-old blind man seeking audible announcement systems on all KTC buses and at bus stands across Goa.

A division bench of Justices Valmiki Menezes and Hiten Venegavkar said it is considering enlarging the scope of the PIL to examine standards under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act and the Motor Vehicles Act, along with the state government’s and corporations’ policies toward persons with disabilities.

The petitioner, Harish Parab, represented by Chirag Angle under legal aid, said he was travelling on an electric Kadamba bus from the Panaji bus stand to Goa University but was mistakenly dropped off at the Goa Medical College stop because the bus’s audible announcement system was disabled.

His petition also seeks wheelchair-accessible ramps on Kadamba buses, specifically notified seats for persons with disabilities instead of arbitrarily reserved seating, and concessional travel rates for persons with benchmark disabilities even outside Goa’s territorial limits.

The PIL further seeks the formation of an independent authority to oversee infrastructural measures for persons with disabilities under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, in consultation with disabled persons and their organisations.