Company Name:
Planet Abled
Founder: Neha Arora
Profile: Customised travel
solutions company for
people with disabilities
Launched in:
January 2016
Destinations:
30 locations within India
Awards: NCPEDP Mphasis
Universal Design Awards,
World Responsible Tourism
Awards (WRTA)
everyone learns a lot about the environment and even about each
other’s lives,’’ Arora adds.
As a society, we are aware of the taboos involving disabilities.
While there are efforts being made by the government on policy
level, at the execution level there are not enough mechanisms in
place for these reforms to organically fall in place. For instance, apart
from enabling a travel platform to people with disabilities, what
Planet Abled also tries to encourage is a sense of inclusion. For this,
Planet Abled organises group meetings in restaurants over dinner,
walks to heritage sites across Delhi, apart from the usual workshops.
Neha says, “…the idea is to encourage and allow everyone to see each
other with a genuine sense of curiosity. We encourage conversations
between people who have never stepped out of their comfort zones
or homes to just hang out at clubs or go out for walks. We want them
to be seen and in turn, we want them to see as much as possible.’’
It is well known that changes take some time to take place
and it seldom happens overnight. Many among the developed
and developing countries are making efforts to make their
infrastructure disability friendly. India is no exception; recently,
Kerala Education Minister C Raveendranath has announced that
the Kerala government is planning to construct autism parks for the
children with disabilities in all the 140 assembly constituencies in
the state in the coming three years. Professionals will be appointed
in these parks to train children for their overall engagement and
development. These are baby steps in the direction towards bridging
these spaces closer.
I have always travelled with my family.
Solo trip to Rishikesh was a revelation, it
gave me the confidence to travel more
Photo: gireesh gv
Name: Rahul Rawal
Age: 34
Occupation: Operations
Manager, AON
Photo: gireesh gv
Experience: Rawal has
gone on a customised
solo trip to Rishikesh
with Planet Abled. He
also takes active part
in group interactions
hosted by Planet Abled
in Delhi. His next trip will
be to Goa.
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