Suresh Pabhu to award Para-athlete who was forced to sleep on train floor

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu will present an 'Mphasis Universal Design Award' on August 14 to medal-winning para athelete Suvarna Raj. The 34-year-old wheelchair-bound athlete was denied a berth convenient for people with disabilities in the Nagpur- Nizamuddin Garib Rath Express despite repeated requests in June, this year.

From over 90 applications that were received from across the country this year, 12 winners were announced in three categories. ​In the category of "persons with disabilities," Aqil Chinoy, CEO, INSPIRALIVE, Homiyar Mobedji, Country Representative, Benetech India, Suvarna Raj, Project Officer, Association for Disabled People, Vivek Mehta, Founder and CEO of Deaf Easy, bagged the awards.

Raj who was alloted an upper berth had to sleep on the floor of the train after failing to get the lowe birth which is meant for the differently abled persons.

The 34-year-old Raj, who hails from Nagpur suffers fom 90 per cent disability. At the age of 3, polio had affected both her legs. Associated with the activism for 12 years, Raj represents India in para table tennis. She has won two medals at the Thailand Para Table Tennis Open in the year 2013. She also represented Yogendra Yadav's party Swaraj India in the recently-held Municipal Corporation of Delhi or MCD elections. She had contested from Babarpur area in North-east Delhi.

Raj has completed her educaation from Nagpur and studied BCom, B.Ed., and M.Com from Nagpur University and an MSW from IGNOU from Delhi.

OneIndia News