New Delhi: The entire nation was filled with pride when Paralympian Deepa Malik braved all odds and clinched her silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in shot put. Little did we expect her to face an unpleasant situation in the country, especially after her emphatic win.
Deepa recently took to Twitter and alleged rude behavior by the cabin crew member of Vistara airlines. She mentioned in her tweet about how ill-trained the crew was in handling the differently-abled persons on board.
She even mentioned about the ‘poor handling’ of the wheelchair-bound passengers by the airlines’ staff. Deepa signed off her tweet saying that it was a ‘sad experience’ for her. She was travelling from Mumbai to Delhi in Visatara flight UK-902 on October 4, 2016.
In her onboard written complaint to the airline, she alleged that one of the cabin crew members behaved rudely with her when she was informing her mother on the phone that her flight from Mumbai was delayed. "Crew member Priyanka was very rude in the flight. She told me to speak softly when I called parents to inform them about the delay in flight," she wrote in the complaint.
"On objecting, she said 'sweetheart, chill'," Malik wrote, adding plus wheelchair handling is so poor that you do not know how to shift a person from seat to cabin chair. The entire staff stands and looks at each other for 10 minutes. No action."
She alleged that the cabin crew was not ready to help her reach the cabin seat as they were not trained. Later, in a series of tweets, she urged the airline to treat physically challenged passengers with dignity.
She also tagged her tweets to Union Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Gehlot. Here's what she tweeted:
Very poor handling of wheelchair passenger in De boarding and fragile items. Rude n ill mannered crew. Sad experience. @airvistara pic.twitter.com/UAUKA8UJqt
— Deepa Malik (@DeepaAthlete) October 4, 2016
Hope my written complaints are taken seriously https://t.co/bkh99DZFM0
— Deepa Malik (@DeepaAthlete) October 4, 2016
Hope @airvistara takes note of my complaints and revert. More dignity for physically challenged passengers @socialpwds @TCGEHLOT pic.twitter.com/URfk6ts2av
— Deepa Malik (@DeepaAthlete) October 4, 2016
Happy to receive such a positive response and prompt action for future betterment. Kudos to your sincere efforts. Thank u @airvistara https://t.co/KjlzAt6Qg9
— Deepa Malik (@DeepaAthlete) October 5, 2016
Thank you for visiting in person and resolving with an amazing zeal to work more towards handling of specially abled passengers. https://t.co/HgA09SiVkI
— Deepa Malik (@DeepaAthlete) October 5, 2016
The matter is resolved and due attention for future betterment is promised by @airvistara https://t.co/pa8rysZZI9
— Deepa Malik (@DeepaAthlete) October 5, 2016
Soon after Deepa’s post on micro-blogging site caught everyone’s attention, the airlines rushed for an instant apology, assuring a thorough probe and necessary action too.
"As a team, we would like to sincerely apologise Deepa for her disappointing experience. We have been in touch with Deepa and are grateful for the feedback shared by her. We are investigating the incident thoroughly and will take all necessary corrective actions to ensure something like this never occurs again," Vistara said in an apology letter to Deepa.
Deepa became the first ever Indian woman to win a medal in Paralympic Games 2016.
(With PTI inputs)
