16/04/2025 Kumar Mahavir Community

Case Study: Kadavakolanu Janardhana and the Practical Significance of Accessibility

 

Kadavakolanu Janardhana, a 31-year-old man from Tadipatri city in the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh, became paralyzed in his lower limbs following a road accident. Before the accident, Janardhana worked as an electrician in his hometown. Due to family hardships, he could not continue his education beyond matriculation and trained himself as an electrician to support his family. He married young and has three children.On September 3, 2022, Janardhana was involved in a severe road accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. His primary challenges were sustaining his family financially and accessing the rehabilitation needed to improve his mobility. About one and a half years ago, Janardhana moved to Bengaluru with his wife and three children, seeking better opportunities. In Bengaluru, he shared a home with a friend from his hometown who had also experienced a similar accident, uses a wheelchair, and works at a corporate firm.Bengaluru provided Janardhana with the opportunity to earn a living with dignity while using a wheelchair. He joined a reputed food delivery company, a job made possible by the improved accessibility of public places, which allows him to move freely in his wheelchair.

 

Accessibility is not just an abstract concept but a practical necessity that enableshim to work and live with dignity—something that was not feasible in his hometown in Andhra Pradesh. However, he still struggles to make his place of residence accessible to his needs. As he rents a 2BHK house for ₹8,000 per month while earning approximately ₹15,000 monthly, he cannot modify the home’s infrastructure to suit his accessibility requirements.This situation highlights the dichotomy of Janardhana’s life. While moving to Bengaluru has opened better economic opportunities post-disability, it has also restricted his life choices due to the lack of accessibility in his home. This challenge is exacerbated by a sharp decline in income for food delivery riders and his reduced working hours due to irritable bowel syndrome, which presents unique accessibility challenges. Janardhana struggles to find accessible toilets outside his home, increasing his cost of living while limiting his income potential.

 

Thus, the lack of accessibility significantly impacts both his financial stability and quality of life, while ensuring survival of a family consisting of 5  family members. Often it is said, accessibility is a narrative of elite and rich but through this case study, it is evident that accessibility is the need of all, irrespective of the social and economic situation and the narrative of accessibility needs to be democratised and through this approach we can tap in and maximise the social and economic potential of accessibility.

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