From the States

Soyabean nuggets at Bengal Food Products

A factory located in Kolkata's Kausba Industrial Estate, is being run by a group of physically challenged people who manufacture Soyabean nuggets at the Bengal Food Products.

The workers comprise 35 differently-abled members, many of them having speech or hearing disabilities. They are involved in the production process, starting from running the machines to packing material.

According to Subrata Saha, the factory's owner, the manufacturing unit being operation for the last four months works more efficiently than the one employing able-bodied workers. "As far as efficiency is concerned I have another factory where physically fit workers work. I think this unit is more efficient. There is no sound pollution in my factory. Very good work happens here and almost 35 people work here in two shifts. There is a minimum two tons of production working in two shifts in a day,"

The workers too are happy that their talents have been meaningfully utilized by the factory owner instead of considering them useless or setting them aside on the fringes of life.  "I make a decent money working here ... I can do something, make a living despite being a handicapped," said Madhai Bairagi.

According to a government estimate about two per cent of the population has physical or sensory disabilities that include visual, speech, hearing and movement problems but volunteers working in the field put the figure at five to six percent of the population, or 50 to 60 million people.
As per the Persons with Disabilities Act of 1995, the disables in India are entitled to a host of rights that would go a long way in enriching their lives, already harassed by nature's follies.

But it has been widely noticed that even after a decade after the Act was passed, they still face discrimination in employment, even in state-run enterprises.

Source: Soma Mitra: http://www.dailyindia.com/show/131454.php/Kolkata-disabled-group-running-a-factory

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Pension scheme

The Delhi government announced that the pension for physically and mentally disabled persons would be increased from Rs 350 to Rs 600 per month. Finance Minister A.K. Walia made the announcement while discussing the Budget proposals in the Delhi Assembl. The House passed the Budget by a voice vote without any changes.

“The physically and mentally challenged people need the money for their needs. This is a small gesture of the government,” the minister said. An estimated 50,000 people are expected to benefit from the new scheme.

Earlier, refuting the Opposition charge that the budget was “election-centric,” Walia said, Elections are to be held next year, and we have one more budget to present. The Plan fund for the MCD, he said, has been increased by 77 per cent from Rs 914 crore to Rs 1,618 crore. ‘This is for the development of the city, not political considerations,” he said.

Source: Pension scheme for the disabled. The Hindustan Times, Daily, New Delhi, 20 April 2007.

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