THE VISUALLY CHALLENGED ANNOUNCER AT SEALDAH – A SAGA OF DEVELOPMENT OF INNER POTENTIAL
Kolkata, July 16, 2023:
“Attention Please: Ranaghat Local will leave Platform No. 6 at 11 hrs or Attention Please: Bangaon Local will leave Sealdah from Platform No. 3 at 11.45 hrs. ” – these type of announcement at Sealdah station is most familiar to commuters. But most of the passengers do not know that the person behind the voice heard at Sealdah station is Shri Paritosh Biswas, a differently abled employee of Eastern Railway.
Perhaps the line of a poem, “ Chokher Aloy Dekhechilem Chokher Bahire” written by Kaviguru Rabindranath Thakur has become very significant in respect of Parimal who cultivated his other abilities successfully.
Eastern Railway has appointed many differently-abled persons at key posts as a part of social responsibility vis-a-vis providing them the opportunity to laud their inner potential. Many of the differently abled persons appointed in Eastern Railway have marked a distinct signature of their work efficiency.
Shri Paritosh Biswas, the Visually Challenged Announcer at Sealdah is one such employee of Eastern Railway who may not see the colorful world but his voice has ever acted as the divine proclamation to lakhs of passengers who pass Sealdah on a daily basis.
Inducted into Railway in 1989, Shri Paritosh Biswas has already completed 34 years of service successfully. He was initially posted at Sealdah and then at Naihati and again back to Sealdah completing a circular journey. His career is the saga of winning over the oddity, a win of willpower over physical challenges.
Shri Paritosh Biswas has the most visible role and serves as an inspiration to others, proving that individuals with visual impairments can excel in their chosen fields. Their presence could help challenge societal stereotypes and promote inclusivity.
Due to his visual impairment, he needs to rely heavily on his memory and auditory skills to remember and recall train details. With the passing years, he familiarized himself with various train routes, timings, and other related information to provide accurate and timely announcements. Moreover, Shri Biswas is also apt in Braille language, Mobile Gadgets, etc to communicate with the world of vision and ever succeeded in establishing effective communication with his colleagues as well as with the passengers.
Shri Amar Prakash Dwivedi, General Manager, Eastern Railway said that Eastern Railway feels proud of such differently-abled employees who in spite of physical challenges have successfully continued their duties in serving the Nation.
A proud father of one son and one daughter, Shri Biswas regularly sets on voyages from his residence at Naihati to his workplace at Sealdah. In the train compartment, the co-passengers might be astonished knowing that the person with the White Cane seating with them is no one but the same whose voice reverberates at every corner of Sealdah Station — “ Attention Please – Yatrigan Kripaya Dhyan De”.
