Chennai: National Association for the Blind (NAB), Delhi and Uber have tied up for a project worth over Rs 25 lakh, to facilitate 12,000 free rides to visually challenged and other disabled persons, as well as their caregivers and teachers.
The association, which will be valid from till December, will enable their safe access to educational and training institutes as well as work places, in eight cities: Chennai, Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Jaipur, and Kolkata. Uber’s partnership with the NAB will be implemented in close collaboration with its local chapter- Karna Vidhya Foundation, in Chennai.
According to the 2011 census, there are 268 million blind and disabled people in India, the highest such number in the world.
Prashant Ranjan Verma, general secretary of National Association for the Blind, said, “The Covid-19 pandemic has severely impacted the lives of people with disabilities. When visually challenged persons travel in public transport, they are at high risk since inadvertently they are likely to get close to fellow commuters.”