Mumbai: Bride on wheelchair made to trek two floors to get married

A young wheelchairbound woman had to ascend two floors with the help of her fianceacute and friends to tie the knot at the marriage registrarrsquos office in Khar on Monday After the union was solemnised the newlywed Virali Modi took to social media to underline the apathy of government officialsVirali was on cloud nine after reaching the registrarrsquos office as she had been planning her big day for at least two months ldquoWe contacted an agent in August to book our appointment He knew that I was disabled but even then he didnrsquot inform me about the office being on an upper floor or had a lift or notWhen we reached around 11 am I was shocked and deeply disappointedrdquo Virali saidVirali Modi and her husband with their marriage certificateShe added ldquoWhen we reached around 11 am I was shocked and deeply disappointed I didnrsquot want to be a burden to others but my fianceacute and friends had to take me up the stairs which were also not in great shaperdquo On Wednesday morning she posted a series of messages on the microblogging site X She wrote ldquoI am disabled and I got married at the Registrars Office at Khar Mumbai on October 16 The office was on the 2nd floor WITHOUT a lift They wouldnrsquot come downstairs for the signatures and I had to be carried up two flights of stairs to get marriedrdquoShe added that the stairs were extremely steep and the railings were loose and rusty ldquoNo one even offered to help nor did they make any kind of accommodations for me even though I had informed my agent of my disability prior to the appointment How is this fair What happened to the Accessible India Campaign Just because Irsquom a wheelchair user do I not have the right to get married to someone I love What if someone had slipped and what if I had fallen on my wedding day Who is responsiblerdquoVirali told midday ldquoAfter the message went viral my agent called me and said that the registrarrsquos office doesnrsquot have a portable fingerprint scanner He even told me that if I paid a fee of Rs 25000 instead of Rs 10000 the registrar would have come to my house for registration This means they have portable machines I planned a budget marriage and why should someone pay more just because he or she is disabled and the office doesnrsquot have infrastructurerdquoVirali posted on X that she was disheartened that the government and citizens could not accommodate her ldquoMy faith in humanity has been destroyed by this ordeal I am not a piece of luggage that needs to be carried up two floors I am a human being and my rights matter My country should accommodate my needs and the needs of millions of disabled citizens This was a government building and the people in charge of running this country should lead from the frontrdquo she postedThe message went viral and about 7000 users reposted it One social media user Hetan Ashar responded ldquoThe same office has property registration on the ground floor and I have never found a clean hygienic or decent place to sit while waiting for the government servers to upload datardquo Another user wrote ldquoIts very bad for senior citizens also We as a family faced many hardships in public spaces for many years when my father was in a wheelchair after a road accident and consequently old age illness So many public spaces are inaccessiblerdquoAn employee attached to the registrarrsquos office said ldquoThere is a marriage registrar who is blind and faces lots of issues reaching his office We have been corresponding with the higher authorities for a long time to change the location of the office to the ground floor This is not the first such incident Many handicapped couples and elderly couples face difficultiesrdquo The employee also said that a house visit to get a marriage registered can be made for an additional Rs 1000 and not the amount the agent had mentioned to Virali Arun Godekar the marriage registrar was not available for comment Oct 16Day Viralirsquos messages went viral