It’s not every day that you enter a customer relations centre to see a ramp and a female guard at the door. But the Tata Powers Customer Relations Centre in Ghatkopar West is not any regular centre—this is India’s first customer relations centre fully managed by divyang (diffrently-abled) executives.

“We have an inclusive workforce policy through which we intend to empower women and persons with disabilities (PwDs),” says Dr Nilesh Kane, Chief of Distribution (Mumbai Operations) at Tata Power. “In the last two years, we have successfully run four all-women customer relationships centres. Going forward, our hiring will include five per cent specially-abled persons and 30 per cent women. In the next two to three years, we plan to open around five such centres.” “Welcoming a PwD to the workforce is a conscious decision you take knowing and understanding their needs and requirements,” they said in a statement.

We visit the centre a week after its inauguration. At 1 pm, it’s packed with customers. The first counter is where you take a token, followed by the cash counter which has two PwD executives. “At my previous jobs,” says Sarita Kadam, who is afflicted by polio, “I used to be in the back office; now I’m at the front desk!” Kadam’s previous job gave her experience in operating computers, and there was further training involved in her current role. “I was nervous,” she admits, never been given the responsibility of being the face of an organisation or to interact with customers. But the jitters faded away in a few days. With her residence in Ghatkopar East, her commute is convenient—an important factor to consider.

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The commute, already no less than an odyssey for any Mumbaikar, is doubly dangerous for a PwD. The Ghatkopar centre was chosen as the pilot, because most executives working there come from the central belt. It made sense then to convert this all-women centre, which has shifted elsewhere, into one managed by divyang employees. That explains the female security guard at the door.

“This is better than other jobs as we don’t have to travel,” says 23-year-old Abhijit Damgude, the cashier. It’s the primary reason the Govandi-resident shifted jobs. He previously worked at a call centre in Andheri and rode there on his modified scooter. Before that, he was a delivery executive for Swiggy and Zomato.

Shraddha Naikwadi, the youngest employee, comes all the way from Navi Mumbai, changing trains heroically at Kurla station. The 22-year-old is orthopaedically handicapped, but does not need support to move around. Just like Kadam, she was tucked out of sight at the backend office by her previous employer. Now she’s studying for a government exam. “I listen to songs [on the train],” she says about her one-and-a-half-hour long journey. “Sometimes, I use that time to study for my exams.”

Uday Vishwakarma’s daily commute starts at Kalyan. He used to be a medical representative with a pharmaceutical company earlier, but he developed a knee problem that added to the challenges posed by his polio-affected left arm. “The company is inspirational because handicapped people don’t get [as many] employment opportunities as compared to others,” he says. He agrees that he is slower than others at his work, given he can only use his right arm. He’s also appreciative of the ramp at the entrance that facilitates wheelchairs, “[when] centres don’t have such facilities, other employees have to step out and help the person enter.”

In the two hours we spent there, all worker bees were efficiently absorbed by their tasks. They were shy while speaking to us, but faced customers confidently. What has been the customer response? “Some extend a warm smile while some don’t even bother,” says Naikwadi. Kadam addresses the elephant in the room when she says, centres with just PwD can be “awkward, but all companies should hire specially-abled for profiles that fit them.”

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