Hurdles kept disabled away from CWG spectacle

Organisers of the just-concluded Commonwealth Games may boast of holding a world-class sporting extravaganza, but the disabled and activists working in this area have said that the event was far from being friendly towards their participation.

Organisers of the just-concluded Commonwealth Games may boast of holding a world-class sporting extravaganza, but the disabled and activists working in this area have said that the event was far from being friendly towards their participation.

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Even though the OC had set aside 0.5 per cent of the overall tickets for the differently-abled, officials admit that hardly any ticket was sold in this category. “The games was not at all barrier free.

The website of the Delhi Games had only half a page of information on facilities provided for disabled spectators, whereas the website for the Melbourne Games, had pages and pages of precise information,” lamented Javed Abidi, an activist working for the physically challenged. A senior official of the OC said the ticket sales for disabled spectators were next to none.