A Disabled Doctor Gives Hope To Many Like Her By Designing Electric Wheelchairs

Hyderabad: Giving purpose to her life, a doctor with disability has given hope to thousands of disabled persons by designing electric wheelchairs. Dr Nalluri Himabindu is the force behind the Easy Life Wheelchairs enterprise. Dr Himabindu’s journey is about overcoming disability while redesigning life for herself and thousands of others like her.

“I contracted polio when I was a child. My legs did not work properly,” recalls Dr Himabindu, who was born in Ongole. Her mother, Nageswaramma, was a teacher who took her to many doctors, but there was no improvement. Without callipers, her legs became bent, and she had to crawl using her hands to move.

“My mother or my brother would carry me to school. They never made me feel I was weak,” she said. She was brilliant in academics and stood first in Class 10, earning a free seat for intermediate education. Her determination took her to Sri Venkateswara Medical College in Tirupati, where she completed her medical studies. Later, she specialised in Anatomy at the postgraduate level from Osmania University and also trained in fetal scanning techniques.

A fall in 2015 resulted in a shoulder surgery, making a wheelchair unavoidable. “From that day, the wheelchair became my legs,” she disclosed. But even this was a struggle as manual wheelchairs were exhausting. She imported a battery-operated wheelchair that broke down during a visit to Delhi. She returned home somehow.

When she stepped out after changing the battery, tragedy struck again as the battery caught fire and her house was burnt down. Since importing another wheelchair from abroad was an expensive and complicated exercise, she decided to do something on her own. “I asked myself if I am struggling so much, what about others like me?” she said.

This led to the birth of the Easy Life Wheelchair. Initially, she collaborated with a private firm and imported wheelchairs from China, which were rejected by many during the COVID pandemic because of their country of origin. Thereafter, she thought of making these wheelchairs herself.

In 2021, along with a group of engineering students, she began designing electric wheelchairs in India. “Not everyone with a disability has the same needs. Some cannot use their hands. Some need support for long travel. So, we started designing for individuals, not for the market,” she said.

Today, Easy Life Wheelchair offers 16 different models. Some of these can be operated using a mobile phone, while some are designed for people with limited hand movement. One innovative model even converts a wheelchair into a bike-like vehicle.

“We worked for six months on that model. Everyone wants freedom. Why should mobility be denied?” she underlined while stating that because the wheelchairs are made with indigenous materials and local knowledge, they cost nearly 50% less than imported ones. The initiative now provides over 300 wheelchairs every year.

“I work like any other employee here. It gives me happiness to provide employment to others and stand on my own,” Dr Himabindu disclosed.

Recalling that many people discouraged her, she related, “They said, ‘Why do you need all this? You are a girl. You can just live quietly.’ But I ignored them.”

Her motto is simple, yet powerful. “You don’t need someone else to inspire you. Sometimes, surviving itself becomes inspiration,” she pointed out.

Dr Himabindu has proved that disability is not the end of ability.