RampMyCity: Paralysed After An Accident, Entrepreneur Makes Public Spaces Disabled-Friendly

Prateek Khandelwal’s life took a major turn in 2014 when he fell from an under-construction building. The accident left the IT engineer paralyzed from the waist below and in a wheelchair.

At the time, Prateek was an energetic young professional with a successful career and an active social life, much like many others in their mid-20s. Today, he runs RampMyCity in Bengaluru, a startup that works to improve accessibility for people with disabilities and the elderly in India.

As he adapted to his new reality back then, he knew that he wasn’t going to let his wheelchair stop him from living fully. Although public attitudes towards him changed, with some friends offering him sympathy while others becoming distant, he committed himself to strenuous physical therapy during the first four years after the accident.

Confronted with complications such as bladder issues and muscle atrophy from his spinal cord injury, Prateek chose to focus on his progress over dwelling on the challenges.

Four years of physical training helped Prateek make significant progress, but he faced a new problem: he couldn’t go out to eat at his favourite restaurants or any other places he enjoyed before. This led him to create his startup as he understood just how crucial ramps were in breaking barriers and accessing the world outside.

Founded in 2020, RampMyCity aims to provide complete infrastructure solutions for both public and private sectors. This includes ramps, accessibility audits, retrofitting, and more. So far, Prateek has helped install over 530 ramps in cities like Bengaluru, Goa, Gurgaon, and Mumbai.

‘Why should I stop living my life when my mind and spirit are free?’

Prateek’s brother Nirbhik recalls that during his treatment, his chances of survival were slim. However, Prateek vowed to his doctor, “I’m going to come to you after two years and show you that my life does not end here.” 

This promise was the beginning of Prateek’s journey to recovery. Initially, he saw his friends drifting away and a serious relationship coming to an end. “We saw his social life disappear and his situation worsen,” shares Nirbhik.

But, training under his physiotherapist for 8-10 hours a day, Prateek carefully monitored how his bladder and stomach reacted to every bite of food and sip of liquid. “Recovery involved a lot of trial and error. Over time, I learned that improvement comes slowly, but persistence is key,” he shares. 

By 2017, he could stand with a walker and perform tasks like cooking, and even use crutches. It was then that he wondered, “Why should I stop living my life when my mind and spirit are free despite my challenges? I am ambitious, a big-time foodie, and love meeting my friends. Why should a wheelchair put an end to it?” 

Determined not to let his wheelchair limit him, he began reaching out to his friends after four years of isolation. “Though they were initially unsure, they eventually realised I was still the same person and invited me back into their social circles,” he says.

But the family struggled to find accessible locations for Prateek, so they took it upon themselves to install ramps. This way, he could join them in their outings to restaurants and theatres. “The goal wasn’t to start a big business but to improve accessibility for people like Prateek, helping them enjoy a life similar to anyone else,” says Nirbhik, adding that being able to go out for weekends and date nights boosted Prateek’s confidence. 

“Giving him a normal life was the biggest success for us,” he remarks.

In his effort to reconnect with the community, Prateek faced a harsh reality: the lack of accessibility in India. Despite living in a prestigious building, he discovered that neither the building itself nor public spaces like banks, restaurants, metro or police stations, theatres were accessible to him. 

“This realisation hit me hard, making me feel as if I were in a permanent lockdown,” he says.

Many people with disabilities are forced to stay indoors because of such infrastructural barriers. The World Bank reports that about 15% of the global population has some form of disability. Given India’s population of over 1.4 billion, this translates to approximately 21 crore people with disabilities. 

This raises the question: Where are these individuals?

The disabled community is one of the largest and most marginalised groups, often unseen and confined to their homes. An important question to consider then is what the government is doing about accessibility. The Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act of 2016 mandates equal access and universal design standards, but enforcement is often inadequate in the country.

“Government projects often feature substandard accessibility features, with ramps that don’t meet necessary standards. There is a notable lack of action from startups, NGOs, and wheelchair advocates as well,” Prateek remarks. To fill this gap, he created RampMyCity.

“RampMyCity wasn’t created just from my ideas alone,” Prateek says. “It grew out of my real-life experiences. We visit each location to figure out the ramp requirements and then devise a solution that works without disrupting the current setup. Our approach is always practical and starts from the bottom up.”

The initiative began with a campaign to persuade restaurants to install ramps, aiming to change the view of accessibility from a charity issue to a popular cause. Its first product was a simple, attention-grabbing ramp designed to make accessibility more visible and mainstream and promote it in popular locations.

A key challenge for Prateek was the lack of awareness about the need for ramps, making it tough to attract sponsors. “Being convincing is crucial when the need isn’t clear to others,” he reflects.

“Ramps don’t need any cement or brickwork. We decided to manufacture steel and aluminium ramps in our workshop, which can be quickly installed at any location with no downtime,” he shares. This makes it a simple and efficient solution.

Initially, RampMyCity focused on eateries because they attract a lot of people. Between 2018 and 2020, it had set up ramps at 60 locations. “As our work became more visible, we began receiving requests from other sectors like banks, schools, and hospitals,” says Prateek, adding that even though COVID-19 slowed things down a bit, the team of nine continued to make progress and installed over 70 ramps at primary healthcare centres in Bengaluru.

Making Bengaluru one of India’s most wheelchair-friendly cities

In Bengaluru, the startup has ramped Church Street, over 100 restaurants, 50+ police stations, malls, and ATMs, making it one of the most wheelchair-friendly cities in India. 

“Although our team is small, we’re constantly working in the field. Installing a ramp isn’t as simple as it sounds; it requires several rounds of audits and surveys due to the city’s unorganised growth,” he reveals. 

While laws have defined ramp standards, the existing infrastructure often doesn’t meet these standards due to space constraints and obstacles like parking and drainage. “We first conduct a technical audit to determine the best type of ramp for each location, ensuring that every ramp is customised to fit the site’s needs,” Prateek states.

According to Ipsita Sarkar, who has known Prateek since college and has worked with RampMyCity since 2018, the key to the organisation’s success is Prateek’s drive to motivate himself and those around him. She describes how they started by inviting wheelchair users to events to help them break out of their shells.

The turning point for Prateek came in 2022 when Lok Sabha MP Tejasvi Surya took notice of his work and asked him to install ramps at 10 prominent government buildings in Bengaluru. The startup successfully installed ramps in a park, a hospital, and at other sites.

“With Dunzo sponsoring the initiative, they added 10 ramps in just 20 days. That moment marked a new chapter for us and gave us the visibility we needed,” Prateek says.

Today, RampMyCity has expanded to various cities, including Delhi, Cyber Hub, Galleria Market in Goa, and popular markets in Mumbai. Currently, it is working on ramping up police stations and eateries in Mumbai.

RampMyCity handles everything – from ramps and railings to furniture and bathroom accessories, elevators, wheelchairs, and emergency evacuation solutions. For instance, the team provides special wheelchairs that can navigate stairs during emergencies when elevators can’t be used. 

It sources these products from across India, both locally and centrally, to meet various needs. Through this, it has reinvigorated the industry, increasing supply and opening the market to new players focused on disability solutions.

“We’ve been asked by numerous organisations to create end-to-end accessibility solutions for their workplaces, which include everything from accessible parking and entry routes to doors and charging points. We also address how workspaces, card-punch areas, washrooms, and canteens are all designed to be inclusive and user-friendly,” he notes. 

“Everyone talks about how India will be developed by 2047, but we must remember that true development starts with accessibility,” Prateek shares, while remarking that countries like Singapore and those in Europe are considered developed because they are accessible. “For India to reach that level, accessibility must come first. This is the vision we strive for.”

Tapping into the corporate market

“The reality is that many people have limited budgets for accessibility features,” states Prateek. Cafes might only spend a few thousand on ramps, but proper ramps with the right length and gradient cost more. 

This was the challenge for Prateek and his team because people wanted ramps but weren’t willing to pay for quality. “We needed to find a way to scale up quickly, aiming for thousands of ramps per year, not just dozens. Even large corporations with substantial revenues often don’t budget for true accessibility. We saw an opportunity in CSR and philanthropic funding to help us grow and meet our targets,” Prateek says.

In total, 70% of the total Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) spending from 2018 through 2021 went to education, healthcare, rural development, environmental sustainability, and poverty, according to a Bain & Company report. RampMyCity approached these corporations, proposing they invest in public accessibility projects. 

“We offered to manage installations in public places, hospitals, and police stations, with the government providing the necessary permissions. This model has helped RampMyCity scale rapidly, shares Prateek, adding that the startup is currently working to tap into this large pool of CSR money to improve public infrastructure.  

When asked how he stayed motivated during the early days of his startup while adjusting to life in a wheelchair and an unclear path ahead, Prateek says it was all about taking baby steps. “When you are consistent in working towards your goals, there will always be a way forward,” he shares, quoting his personal mantra: Kismat ke bharose mat baithiye; kismat khud aapke bharose baithi hai (Don’t wait for luck/kismet; it is waiting for you to make a move).

“My injury forced me to face myself. I could either become my greatest ally or my biggest enemy,” he shares. Years after the accident, when Prateek reviewed his life, his past achievements, and took note of the go-getting attitude he had always had, he was able to piece together his identity. This led to a renewed focus on his goals. 

For those facing similar struggles, his advice is to trust the process. “Over time, you will see how the bigger plan was made for you.”

He further adds, “I’ve never regretted my injury or my life in a wheelchair. Instead, I see it as an amazing opportunity that I wouldn’t have had otherwise. It’s allowed me to see how many people with disabilities can live full, normal lives; travel, work, and be part of society.”

Edited by Padmashree Pande; Pictures Courtesy: Prateek Khandelwal

Sources:

https://www.bain.com/globalassets/noindex/2022/bain_report_india_philanthropy_report-2022.pdf. Bain & Company India Philanthrophy Report 2022

https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/disability#:~:text=One%20billion%20people%2C%20or%2015,experience%20some%20form%20of%20disability. Disability Inclusion – World Bank

https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/15939/1/the_rights_of_persons_with_disabilities_act%2C_2016.pdf. The Rights Of Persons With Disabilities Act, 2016