Wrong bus stop drop-off sparks PIL over Goa’s disabled-unfriendly transport

A 32-year-old blind man’s mistaken drop-off at the wrong bus stop has led to a public interest litigation before the Bombay High Court demanding accessibility upgrades across Goa’s Kadamba Transport Corporation (KTC) bus network.

Petitioner Harish Parab said he was travelling on an electric Kadamba bus from the Panaji bus stand to Goa University but was instead dropped off at the Goa Medical College stop, after the bus’s audible announcement system was disabled. Parab, represented by Chirag Angle under legal aid, is seeking directions to operationalise audible announcement systems in all KTC buses and at bus stands.

On Wednesday, a division bench of Justices Valmiki Menezes and Hiten Venegavkar sought replies from KTC, the department of social welfare and other authorities, and said it is considering widening the PIL’s scope to examine standards under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act and the Motor Vehicles Act.

The petition also seeks wheelchair ramps on Kadamba buses, specifically numbered seats reserved for persons with disabilities rather than arbitrary reservations, and concessional fares for persons with benchmark disabilities even for travel outside Goa.

Parab has asked the court to direct the formation of an independent authority to implement infrastructural measures for persons with disabilities under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.