Gopal Naik was born as a healthy baby. He faintly recalls his mother sharing the incident of his fever and injection given by a medical practitioner leading to his disability. Gopal was too small to recollect these memories. He only remembers that he was carried by his father on his shoulders when he began to go to Government Primary School at Chicalim. The teachers often asked his father not to carry Gopal on shoulder and allow him to walk on his own.
"I limped. The teachers in Regina Mundi High School, Chicalim were supportive, so were my friends,” says Gopal who participated in sports with other students, and never realised that he had polio which was a disability and which was his weakness until late.
Gopal passed his 12th Standard from MES College, Vasco. He wanted to join NCC but his instructor rejected him saying that since his limbs would be a problem for marching. Later Gopal joined Government Polytechnic where hostel stay, tuitions were free through a Central government sponsored scheme for students with disabilities. It was implemented all over India, and could not continue further due to financial difficulty. However, this was a wonderful opportunity granted by the government for students with disabilities where technical education was provided free of cost along with the hostel stay which benefited many individuals with disabilities during that time.
After a diploma in mechanical engineering Gopal tried for a job but was not offered any as the disability in his leg was considered a hurdle and risk. And at the age of 28 after working for a few years in a private MNC, he took up a job as a teacher in Government Technical School. “My wife has done masters in structural engineering and ours was an arranged marriage,” shares Gopal, who is active in sports, despite his disability.
Gopal plays table tennis. He went to National games representing the State twice. He also played wheelchair basketball at National Level. Gopal was the only Para Table Tennis player from Goa when he went to play for the first time outside Goa to the Para National Tournament organised under TTFI. Many PwDs from Goa were motivated to play Para Table Tennis after seeing Gopal playing. It will not be wrong to conclude that present active participation in Para Sports within Goa is perhaps the initiative of Gopal who feels that sports activities bring persons out of their negativity and depression and helps maintain mental wellbeing.
“But PwDs are not much aware of Para games. Para sports have no different rules than general sports except classification according to disability. PwDs feel motivated when they see others like them playing. Many of my PwD friends play well, with the help of various aids. I will continue participating in Para National events,” affirms Gopal.
Pointing out that when the PwDs travel by railways, they have to face lot of difficulties and there is no safety, no protection and general public also travels in the special compartments reserved for the passengers with disabilities, Gopal explains, “No railway guard or TC travels or enters this reserved compartment making the condition of passengers with disabilities hostile and risky. There is no safety for the travellers with disability. Entry for the general public without disabilities in this reserved compartment should be totally barred and it should be reserved only for the passengers with disabilities. Also there is no wheelchair accessibility in railways and it becomes difficult to climb the railway compartments. Lifts on the platforms are a major requirement and those available should be maintained in operational condition. Margao railway station is the main junction in Goa but is not accessible to the PwDs. I want to bring this to the notice of the government that train travel should be made safer for the PwDs and have filed a complaint before the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities India,” affirmed Gopal.
Travelling independently is yet another challenge faced by the PwDs, as the public transport system is inaccessible. “Owing to these challenges I learned to drive a four-wheeler and coincidentally my driving teacher is himself a person with a disability, since driving schools do not admit the individuals with disabilities due to lack of automatic vehicles for training. Availing a driving license with correct terminology such as ‘invalid carriage’ to my four-wheelchair license and general ‘two wheeler without gear’ (since I drive two-wheeler scooter without modification) was yet another legal battle fought through a legal practitioner. The approach toward the person with disability in society depends upon the mind set and mind of the people. Let’s hope for a more understanding society,” concludes Gopal.
