Why disabled people in India are paying higher rents

MRUNMAIY ABROAL is a wheelchair user who moved to Bengaluru six years ago to work at Amazon. The 42-year-old suffered a cervical spinal cord injury in a road accident in 2011 that left her paralysed below the shoulders. Following the incident, Abroal said, her life had been turned “upside down”, but she was determined to make things work again. 

Despite her injuries, she promised herself that she would live life to the fullest. From scuba diving to paramotoring, she has continued to chase new adventures and experiences, no matter the hurdles. But one of the hardest challenges she has had to face is finding an affordable, wheelchair-accessible home. When I spoke to her, Abroal was living with her two parents in a suitable two-bedroom flat in Bengaluru. But the landlord had increased the rent, and, unable to afford the new price, she and her parents had received a one-month eviction notice, forcing them to search for a new place to live.