| Disabled in Delhi hold angry protests, demand rights
New Delhi, Sep 19 (ANI): Dozens of physically and mentally challenged people, affiliated to the Action for Disability Development and Inclusion (AADI) and the Disabled Rights Group (DRG) today organized a protest outside the office of the Planning Commission here, to demand their rights. They demanded their rightful due in the Eleventh Five Year Plan, to be implemented from 2007. The protestors expressed their frustration over Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia meeting other groups and not them. The protest however, ended in a scuffle with the police. Javed Abidi, the wheelchair bound convenor of the Disabled Rights Group, who now directs the National Centre for the Promotion of Employment for Disabled People, based in New Delhi, warned the protests would be stepped up if the voices of the disabled remained unheard.
Seeking solutions: New buses may help city's struggling transit ...
Public transit is Lynchburg is struggling with deficits and bus-maintenance problems that often leave paying customers without a reliable way to get to work or to the doctor. But there may be several solutions, both long-term and short-term, that could strengthen a system that many of the city's working poor depend upon. Over the past several weeks, The News & Advance spent more than 20 hours riding nearly every Greater Lynchburg Transit Company bus route, and has interviewed numerous riders. The newspaper also reviewed hundreds of documents detailing maintenance work and costs after filing a Freedom of Information request. Those interviews and documents show that the GLTC faces severe maintenance issues and growing costs to provide service, including rising fuel prices.
Mobility Unlimited attempts to lift burden after Route 4's closure
When a bus route past his workplace closed earlier this month, Mark Towery took a week off the job just to plot how he would get around town. Wheelchair bound, Towery is relying on friends, co-workers and taxis while a local nonprofit agency readies a van for him to drive. The 33-year-old is just one in a group of disabled riders formerly reliant on Rogue Valley Transportation District's Route 4 that Mobility Unlimited can assist, said executive director Glory Cooper. "The services have been cut where they're most needed," Cooper said. A $1.2 million shortfall in RVTD's budget coupled with low ridership prompted the Sept. 1 closure of Route 4 past Rogue Valley Medical Center. RVTD's Valley Lift also was discontinued in that area because federal funding for the service is directly linked to the proximity of bus routes.
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