FIGHT AGAINST HARASSMENT

More than 50 disabled people, along with activists and special educators, demonstrated for an hour outside the airport's departure gate No. 2B on Wednesday, demanding that airline and airport personnel treat them sensitively.

The demonstration was triggered by the harassment meted out to Safayat Amir, 22, by Air India officials on December 26 and 27 at the airport.

Safayat, who has autism, was headed for Bangladesh when the airline officials refused to give him a boarding pass till his parents produced a fitness certificate.

When they returned with one the next day, the officials asked them to sedate Amir before boarding a flight.

"For half an hour, we and several other passengers tried to convince Air India officials that sedation was not necessary but to no avail," Amir's father Hossain told Metro over the phone from Gurgaon.

Hossain, who is on deputation from Japan to India for a multi-national company, said: "Ultimately we had to sedate him because we did not want to miss a flight the second time. The airport authorities need to be sensitised about the needs of special kids."

Hossain said he was happy that so many people had turned up to show solidarity with his son. "He has never faced any harassment in any airport in the past... and we are frequent fliers," Hossain said.

Amir is not alone; there are others who have had similar experiences.

Anita Ghai, an assistant professor of Delhi University, had a tough time on January 29 when Air India officials failed to provide her with a wheelchair at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport.

This is the first time that the Disability Activist Forum staged a demonstration at the airport, along with NGOs Parivaar Bengal, Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy and Mentaid.

"We want people to be more sensitive towards our needs and we demand our right to inclusion," said Jeeja Ghosh who heads the IICP's Ankur Advocacy Group. "Harassment by airline staff is becoming a regular feature. This needs to stop."

Ghosh, who has cerebral palsy, had been stopped from boarding a flight in 2012 because she was travelling alone.

On Wednesday, she was seen distributing pamphlets to people arriving at the airport, seeking solidarity while trying to create awareness.

Dr A.B. Sharma, whose daughter was headed for Ahmedabad, said he had never seen such a protest at the airport. "But this is important and I support it wholeheartedly."

But not everyone was supportive. Some said such demonstrations should be held elsewhere and not outside gates, however peaceful they maybe.

The demonstration ended with the forum placing a charter of demands, which included compensation for Amir and disciplinary action against the perpetrators, before the airport director.

An airport official said "appropriate action" would be taken.

An Air India spokesperson termed the Amir incident as "a one-off".

"But even then, we are dealing with it with utmost seriousness. A committee has been formed to investigate the matter and action will be taken against the guilty."