The Reliance Fresh Signature Store Makes A Statement

The entrance to the Reliance Fresh Signature Store, Bhulabhai Desai Road 

The disregard, the utter lack of understanding or not being thoughtful of the needs of a physically and mentally challenged person is stark and allpervasive.

A case in point is our dehumanising experience yesterday at Reliance Fresh Signature store on Bhulabhai Desai Road just opposite Mahalakshmi temple.

I was in the store to buy sugar, rose syrup and mangoes for Rukaiya.

As usual I had kept her waiting out on her wheelchair, as she would not be able to climb the steps and move in the store, when a man who looked to be the manager came to me and objected to Rukaiya being outside the store as she was disturbing the customers and asking things/ stretching out her hand/s. Even as I was explaining that she  is a special needs person  just 'reaching out' and if people mistakenly give her alms reinforcing her wrongly it is wrong. But since he was in no mood to listen that I have been coming to this store with her for the past more than seven years and have had immense cooperation from the floor staff and security, I told him that he can call the police. Secondly he can help me bring up her wheelchair so that she would be in the store and shop with me

But he was hardly inclined to do this. So I told him most public places and malls have a handicapped friendly environment and this store could also be one by proving a slope alongside the steps.

To which he replied that this was not a big mall, ours is just a small convenience store. I was surprised and told him so. That he was belittling this Reliance Fresh Signature store by calling it a small convenience store. This when there is extensive development of the mezzanine floor in progress and their expansion by acquiring more space of the adjoining shop from where you enter..
I was not allowed to film the happenings but I let him know that the concerned people including Mukeshbhai would know about this. I left the store putting back whatever I had picked up,  without buying anything.

And that is not all. When I came out of the store what I saw brought tears to my eyes.  I found her awkwardly perched on her wheel chair which had fallen like this 

#MukeshAmbani