Five differently abled riders from Kerala take on 12,000-km journey to promote accessibility

Thrissur: Five differently abled people, including four wheelchair users, are set to embark on a 12,000-kilometre international road journey across India, Nepal and Bhutan as part of a major accessibility awareness initiative.

The ‘TriNation Accessibility Awareness Ride 2026’ aims to stress the need for disability-friendly public infrastructure and inclusive mobility. The 60-day journey will be undertaken using specially designed vehicles adapted for the differently abled.

The ride will begin on January 15 from the Aloor Panchayat Community Hall in Thrissur. The planned route covers Coimbatore, Chennai, Kolkata, Siliguri, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Bhutan, Sikkim, Nepal and Delhi, before returning via Mumbai and concluding in Thrissur.

Five members of the 10-member riding team of Eagle Specially Abled Riders are differently abled. They are Sooraj, P A Rajan, K Rakesh from Kasaragod, R B Rakesh from Thiruvananthapuram, and Abdul Basheer from Kannur.

Sooraj, the state president of Eagle Specially Abled Riders and state secretary of Voice of Disabled, is a recipient of the Kerala State Award and the Helen Keller International Award. He has earlier completed several national-level journeys using a modified scooter, including a 7,000-km accessibility ride across 12 states in 2025.

Rakesh has completed an 8,000-km awareness journey from Kerala to Ladakh by car. Abdul Basheer, a Kerala State Award winner in 2023, completed the Kerala–Ladakh journey using a wheelchair and is also the inventor of a wheelchair-accessible electric tricycle.

P A Rajan, an electrical engineer, is the inventor of seat-lift technology for retrofitted scooters, while Rakesh has earlier completed the 1,600-km Chennai Awareness Ride