New Delhi: Adversity brings the best out of you provided you are prepared to fight and these people with disabilities have fought all odds to come out triumphant from the ‘jaws of defeat’. Hit hard by destiny, they had the resolve not only to stand up again, but with time transformed their weakness into their strength, showing the world that disability is just a psychological barrier.
Meet the ‘Swatchh Ability Run’ brigade, who under Major DP Singh -- now famous as the ‘Blade Runner’ – are not only inspiring people with their courage and determination – but are also ready with their dual mission of motivating the disabled persons to stand on their own and also contribute in the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
Major DP Singh, who lost his leg in 1999 Kargil War and was here with more than 10 of his team members to participate in the Airtel Delhi Half Marathon, said, “More than 150 people will be participating in ‘Swatchh Ability Run’ and the number is increasing day-by-day. More than 1,100 people are associated with the group now. We have taken this initiative as marathon is mostly run in big cities. We can easily change the perception of the people in bigger cities. However, this has not changed the perception of people in smaller cities and till we do not go to these places, this is not going to bring a change.”
Swatch ability run will commence on November 27 in Chandigarh and reach its final point in Delhi on December 3, covering seven cities between them, including Chandigarh, Ambala, Kurukshetra, Panipat, Sonipat, Noida and Delhi.
Speaking on the motive of this run, he said, “We will not only perform but also clean the chosen areas and then these areas will be handed over to schools which are part of our programme so that that they can keep it clean. It is not an eyewash programme but an initiative to keep our cities clean and to maintain this for longer time.”
The Major was also in praise for the supporters of his campaign, including Delhi Dynamos of Indian Super League fame, JK Cement and MP Rajiv Chandra Shekher. “Those who want to bring the change are associated with us,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dr Pratima, one of the members of the group, who lost her leg in an accident some years ago, felt proud being associated with this team and running for a cause. She said, “I am associated with Major DP Singh for last the seven months. I was a sportsperson and he is also a sportsperson. I want to go out and do adventure sports. The society has changed its attitude towards an amputee a lot. We also want society to change for the better.”
Another member of this group, Tinkesh, who lost his left arm and leg to an electric shock, said, “The society has different attitude towards an amputee. But a lot of change is happening at the grass root level now.”
