Prutha Goa

The differently abled and the elderly suffering from mobility issues in Goa now have the encouragement and facility needed to cast their valuable and defining vote in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Ezy Mov, India’s first wheelchair accessible taxi service which was launched in Goa recently, will provide free accessible transport for wheelchair users in the Panjim Assembly Constituency for the Lok Sabha 2019 elections which will be held on 23rd April 2019 in Goa. This free service will enable wheelchair users to travel to the polling stations to cast their vote with greater ease. This transport facility has been provided by the office of the Chief Electoral Office Goa as part of accessible Lok Sabha elections 2019. This is the first time that the Election Commission of India has provided a free transport facility for persons with disabilities and the elderly. This provision is in place to ensure that no one is left behind without casting their vote as it will allow the differently abled

The differently abled now have a safe and comfortable mode of transport through a company called Ezy Mov ( www.ezymov.com ), India’s first transport company that caters especially to the differently abled and the elderly. The company, which is based in Mumbai, was established in 2015 thanks to co-founders Rrajesh Patil, Romeo Ravva and Bennet D'Cunha. Rrajesh Patil has been involved for over 15 years in taxi fleet and driver management, Romeo Ravva has a background in volunteering, event management, branding and communication, and Bennet D’Cunha comes from the healthcare consulting sphere. These three men have been instrumental in providing a means of exploring the world to the differently abled who were once banished to the seclusion of their homes because of the difficulty in obtaining a means of transport that would accommodate their disability. The company operates on the mission of providing the differently abled who have mobility concerns with the chance to ‘Travel with digni

From its institution in 1997, with a total of eight students and one classroom, New Dawn Ashadeep School for special children has come a long way to include eleven classrooms, from primary care group to vocational classes, harbouring a hundred and seventeen students. It is, significantly, the only special school in Goa that has speech and occupational therapy and physiotherapy. Former headmistress Vinny Fernandes, who completed seventeen years at the school, enlightens us on its functioning and focus. ‘I have been here since the inception of the school, even before the actual building came up. I joined somewhere in February, 1997,’ she says. The school was the result of one man’s vision to provide easy access to scholastic amenities and practical training for special children. In the absence of such a school in the whole of Vasco, Vijay Chandran, who was employed with the customs office, decided to bring about a change in the situation. As a parent of a special child he had to travel t