Faridabad:
For Himanshu Mittal, driving a car is exhilarating. The 21-year-old student became a wheelchair user after he fell from the terrace of his house in Faridabad.
Mobility, Himanshu says, is independence. "After driving, confidence built up in me that yes, I can do many things. My life became active. Earlier I used to stay indoors."
Himanshu drives an automatic car and can operate the brakes and accelerator with his hands. The car was modified by a mobility specialist from Jaipur to suit his needs.
In Mumbai, we meet Ferdinand Rodricks, an automotive engineer and one of the few mobility specialists in the field. Ferdinand and his company Ferro Equip have been pivotal in transforming the lives of over a thousand people with disabilities over the last 30 years.
Each person has an individual requirement based upon the nature of their disability. According to him, the first step is a comprehensive evaluation.
Ferdinand said, "From modifying cars for driving, we started making cars wheelchair accessible. Then we made seats for children with cerebral palsy. Everybody undergoes different issues and problems. So when they come to me, I feel I must find a solution to help them out."
Rodricks specialises in hand operated cars, both manual and automatic. Customers can drive the cars with the support of his or her hands or using one limb. The cars still have the foot levers that can be operated by people without disabilities. For wheelchair users who do not want to drive, he makes the vehicle accessible by fitting a ramp or electric lift. The roof is raised so that a person can travel in the car while sitting on his or her wheelchair.
Ferdinand says the hand controls can cost up to Rs 40,000 and other modifications can cost up to Rs 90,000.
He said, "We have also made a wheelchair hoist so that a person can come in on his wheel chair and get into the car and with the wheelchair hoist, he can load the wheelchair on top of the vehicle automatically. So he can do it single handedly. We have also made seats that can turn upto 90 degrees and people can transfer from the chairs to the wheelchair."
The results are truly amazing.
Recalls Ferdinand, "One person on his wedding anniversary took his wife to Lonavala just for lunch. So you can imagine what a thrilling moment it was for him and for his wife to be able to take her there."