India gets its first wheelchair accessible beach festival and it was much needed

For the first time ever, Goa is hosting a beach festival for the wheelchair users and it was the need of the hour. The beach festival, which will go on till April 09, will see wheelchair users enjoying the sand and sea with their kin and kith.

If you are wondering how a wheelchair can be taken on sand, special wheelchairs have been designed so that people can experience the Goan beaches and more than 100 wheelchair users will get on a beach.

In this fest too, a slew of events have been planned such as Aquatic Beach Chair, Beach Bowling, Wheelchair Cricket, Kite Flying, Sand Castle Competitions, and Wheelchair Dancing.

The event is being organised at Candolim beach by Umoja, an online travel platform for accessible travel, along with Disability Rights Associations of Goa and ADAPT and Drishti Life Services.

Yeshwant Holkar, Co-Founder & CEO, Umoja, said, “We have always believed that every individual has equal right to access public spaces. Enjoying a day at the beach along with family should be possible for everyone irrespective of whether such people are differently-abled.”

Frederika Menezes, Author, a wheelchair user said she was excited about the fest and looked forward to more such events.

“It is heartening to know that an initiative is being spearheaded towards unchaining our differently-abled brethren through easier access to public spaces such as beaches. This novel initiative will strengthen them from within towards breaking down societal barriers and reaching their true potential in life,” said Menezes.