From the States

Merciless treatment by police

Maharashtra Government has failed to take instant action against those policemen in Mumbai who were clearly identifiable in video-clippings shown on TV news – channels mercilessly beating and treating blind persons like animals in most barbaric and inhuman manner.  It is now for National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to take some drastic and exemplary action, against the concerned policemen and Maharashtra government for its inaction against the guilty police-persons.

Source: Beating blinds in Mumbai, Delhi Mid Day, New Delhi,15 November, 2006.

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There are many success stories...

He started playing wheelchair tennis to keep fit. Now, he is all set to fly to Malaysia to take part in an international sports event for physically challenged people.

S. Balachander of Bauchettychatram, a village near Kancheepuram had polio in his childhood. However, his strong willpower, the urge to lead a normal life and support from family forced him to complete his studies despite all adversities. Balachandar was placed in Perot Systems, a business process outsourcing company in Chennai, where a new chapter in his life opened up.

The ‘armchair’ job led to back problems and his physiotherapist directed him to the Tamil Nadu Tennis Association, Nungambakkam, where wheelchair tennis coaching is provided to handicapped persons as another way to exercise. “Initially I was a bit reluctant. But after a few weekend sessions, l found playing the game more interesting,” Mr. Balachandar said.

He thanked his employer for extending financial assistance for his participation in the 9th FESPIC Games a multi-sports event for Asian athletes with physical deformity held in Malaysia from November 25 to December 1.

As stated by Balachandran the rules and regulations for wheelchair tennis was the same as a regular tennis game. His candidature to represent India in the wheelchair doubles and singles event was cleared by the Paralympic Committee of India (PCI), recognised as the National Sports Federation for sports among the disabled by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

Balachandran has teamed up with D.Marriappam of Taramani, Chennai, a computer programmer in the Arignar Anna Government Arts College Villupuram, for the doubles event.

Source: Towards a new chapter in life. The Hindu, Daily, Chennai, 22 November 2006.

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Striving for a barrier free society

Shyam Ahuja, a Delhi resident, loves traveling. But the very thought of boarding a train at New Delhi railway station scares him. Trawling the station to get to the specific platform is a battle. That over, getting into the train is a nightmare. The journey is doubly difficult because Ahuja is a wheelchair-user. “When the law requires the Railways to make proper arrangements for people like us, why do we have to face hurdles like these?” he asks.

Sanjeev (name changed), another resident says: “I traveled to Bhopal early this year. While going, I went in the coach meant for people with special needs. The returning train had no such coach and I had to struggle my way into a general coach.”

The Railways did install a ramp at the station in New Delhi, however, few knew about it, Worse, the ramp often served as an easy way out for those lugging railway parcels carts. As one enters the New Delhi railway station from the Ajmeri Gate side there is a restroom. Inside, the toilet for the disabled is not fit for use and even the attendants do not perform their duties well.

Vipin Malhotra, a visually-impaired lecturer at Delhi University says: “The station is a death trap. We need ‘tactile tiles’ to navigate the platform. There are no tactile wings. The ticket counters need to be lowered - ditto for the coach level. If the Delhi Metro can do it, then why not the Railways?” he asks.

The Railways have decided to run “specialized coaches” for people with special needs. However, the project is still at the “design stage”. The design wing of the Railway has joined hands with city-based NGO Samarthya: National Centre for Promotion of Barrier Free Environment for Disabled Persons for this purpose.

“Imagine a deaf-and-mute person waiting at platform no. 1 and the train schedule changes. There is no way for him to access this information. The deaf-and mute need dynamic display, which is special video display in easy language,” says executive director of Samarthya, Anjlee Agarwal. Executive director of Railway Board, Neeraj Kumar, said: “Currently, only some trains have facilities for the disabled. The Railways have decided to extend the facilities in this respect”.

Source: An Unfair Obstacle Race. Today, (Mon-Fri), New Delhi, 21 November 2006.

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Rules or barriers to job opportunities?

Imagine making a choice between having just one leg and one arm rather than having two arms and no legs. If you think that’s bizarre choice to make, then listen to the story of D Sridhar, a successful ’05 civil services candidate.

Sridhar, a candidate from Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu (rank 400), happens to have two arms but no legs. Going by his ranking and the disability quota, he feels he ought to get a Group ‘A’ service. But the service he is eligible for won’t have him on the basis of “functional classification”. Functional classification” is essentially the disability level permissible foe a service. In Sridhar’s case, the functional level prescribed for the service he applied for is one arm and one leg (OA, OL). That is say, if you have am arm and one leg you can get the job.

These rules exist with no logic behind them. The government too is unanswerable except to say that the functional classification is prescribed by the respective cadre controlling authority of each service. But what seems definite is that the absence of an entire set of limbs, upper or lower, definitely means disqualification. Hence AFHQ service, one of the few service that allows for BL (both legs), meaning persons with both legs without use both legs, is what Sridhar is getting.

Department of personnel and training (DoPT) secretary LK Joshi himself is skeptical about the functional classification for the various services. “If a partially deaf person is eligible for the Post and Telegraph Finance Accounts Service (P&TEAS) why should he not be eligible for all other accounts services? There has to be some standardization in the way the functional classification is prescribed. This is mainly the responsibility of the Ministry of Social justice and Empowerment. But we will also be looking into it because we face problems at the time of allotment of service,” explains Joshi.

In the disabled quota in each service, there are different specifications in the functional classification. For instance, in IAS, the functional classification for locomotor disability is BA, OL, OA, BH and MW, meaning the service is open for people without one leg or without one arm, people with stiff back and hips and people suffering from muscular weakness.

How a person who can’t use either arm is more eligible for IAS than a person without the use of both legs seems beyond immediate comprehension.

It’s also not apparent how a person who has no legs, but can use both arms is less eligible, for, say, the Group A accounts service other than for the AFHQ. Incidentally, in the case of the IAS, the cadre controlling authority is the DoPT.

Source: Disability rules hinder candidates’ prospects. The Times of India, Daily, Mumbai, 26 November 2006.

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A relief for bus travelers

The bus shelter in NDMC areas are being redesigned to make them disabled-friendly and accessible to all user groups.

A sample bus shelter at Humayun Road (near Junior Modern School) has already been readied and the model has found the approval of the Steering Committee set up the by the NDMC to look into the design and construction of the bus shelters. The state-of-art bus shelters will be equipped with modern signs, telephone booths and fluorescents tubes on the roof to illuminate the surrounding area.

By next month, 20 more such bus stop would be functional work has already started at bus stops at Vinay Marg, Bhai Vir Singh Road in Gole Market, Baroda House and North Avenue.

“A total of 197 such bus shelters would come up in NDMC areas over the next 15 weeks. The universal design of the shelters would change the system of transportation by public buses in New Delhi area. The design parameters incorporated are in tune with universally accepted norms and make the public facility accessible to all-children, elderly and the disabled,” said Sanjeev Sachdeva of Samarthya, an NGO working for the rights of the disabled.

Source: The bus shelter in NDMC areas are being redesigned to make them disabled-friendly and accessible to all user groups.

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Need to revamp disability assessments

There was finally some relief for three disabled youth who weren’t allotted their cadre by UPSC.  They were denied their due, apparently because upon medical examination, two of them were termed unfit as their disability was “too acute”, while another was deemed unfit for just the opposite reason of not being sufficient disabled. 

Mani Ram Sharma had qualified in 2004 as well, but wasn’t allotted any service.  After he qualified again in 2005, DoPT is said to have taken note of the remarkable feat of qualifying for the civil services twice in succession.  Though there was no vacancy in 2005 for a totally deaf candidate, it was decided that the P&FAS seat from the 2006 batch would be given to him by special dispensation.

In the case of Salma, the first medical examination of Safdarjung Hospital declared her 38% disabled – not disabled  enough to avail of the disability quota meant for persons with over 40% disability.  She appealed against the medical examination was held at Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital, which said she was 55% disabled and eligible for the quota.

Quite the opposite happened in Abhijit’s case.  He was declared totally deaf by the Safdarjung medical board.  He appealed against the finding and yet again, the Ram Manohar Lohia medical board found that he was “profoundly deaf”, which is not quite the same as being stone deaf.  IAS and IFS are open for partially deaf people, going by the functional classification for the services which essentially defines what level of disability is viewed as functional for each service.

Salma having a higher rank got the IAS and Abhijit got IFS.  Unfortunately, Mani Ram Sharma who had ranked higher than Salma and Abhijit, but being totally deaf, could not be considered for IAS or IFS.  It is learnt that the PM has suggested that there should be streamlining of the medical examination and a fresh look at the functional classification for each service.

Source: Streamline medical exam, The Times of India, Daily, New Delhi 21 November 2006.

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SC/ST groups v/s the disabled of India  

It is common knowledge that the Union Ministry of Social justice and Empowerment and is “only concerned about” SC/ST people as a result of has not looked into the pending issues of disabled people. Disabled rights groups have accused the ministry as well as the Centre of playing vote bank politics in the name of quotas.  These groups have demanded that the Centre should update the job list so that jobs can be created in the private sector, as mentioned in the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act.

The Disabled Rights Group, which strongly condemned the inhuman treatment of blind people by the Maharashtra police during a recent protest, announced that disabled people will be staging a dharna to raise their voice against the ministry’s “biased” nature.

Alleging that the Centre has not been able to update the job list, even after the Supreme Court’s direction, executive director of the National Centre of Promotion of Employment for Disabled people, Javed Abidi, said even when it is mentioned in the act, there are no specification of jobs in the private sector.

Abidi accused the quota for SC/ST category as an instrument for vote bank politics and not for general empowerment. He further pointed out that many efforts are being made to empower the SC/ST categories ignoring the disabled. He also claimed that the ministry only talked about categorization of disability and did not bother to look at the skills they possess.

According to estimates, there are 70 million disabled people in the country but less than 1 per cent are employed.  A study conducted by NCPEDP has shown that the average rate of employment in the private sector is mere 0.28 per cent whereas in multinational companies the figure is only 0.05 per cent.

“We are not even getting what is there in the act and worse, no one is bothered to even listen to our problems,” said Abidi.

Source: Disabled job list must be updated, Asian Age, Daily, New Delhi, 15 November 2006.

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Demands of a separate ministry.

Disabled rights activist, Javed Abidi has called for a separate ministry for disabled, in view of the lackadaisical approach of the government towards them.  He demanded inclusion of disabled in the proposed affirmative action code, to be implemented in the private sector for the welfare of the marginalized sections of the society.

On account of the continuous indifference meted out by the government, Abidi said that the problems of the disabled can be addressed only by its own separate ministry and function to end the indifferent and bias behavior being meted out to them. He even staged a dharna in front of Shastri Bhawan and pointed out that the population of the disabled in the country is over seven crore, thus making the demand more pertinent.

Abidi met Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Meira Kumar and presented his charter of demands to her.  However, he alleged that the police manhandled the activists and Ms Kumar ill-treated the delegates who went to meet her.

Alleging the government of taking an “extra care” of the SC/ST and OBC, Abidi said, such moves of the government smell of vote bank politics.

“Reserving quotas for OBCs, SC/STs is a dirty vote bank politics.  While the OBCs can take seven attempts for clearing civil service exams.  SC/STs can appear, unlimited times for the same.  But even if a disabled clears the civil services exam on their own merit, they are being denied the right to serve,” Abidi said.  “There should be three per cent reservation for the disabled in the government jobs while as per our survey the representation of the disabled in the government jobs is 0.2 per cent.  The situation is alarming,” he added.

Source: Ministry for disabled in demand now, Asian Age, Daily, 16 November 2006.

Invaluable contribution of Bethany society.

The only non-governmental organization (NGO) in the State Meghalaya to have undertaken work for the differently-abled people in a big way, Bethany Society, celebrated its 25 years of existence at a small but impressive function at Tura, its headquarters.

The Society has stressed the importance of partnership between government and NGOs and called for a better working relationship between two to ensure that the world becomes a better place to live in.

Tura MLA, Billykid A Sangma, led the celebrations at the Society’s new rehabilitation complex in Tura, near MBoSE, and called the Society’s work “highly noble”.

The brave and bold step to establish Bethany Society was taken by a group of Seven Sisters belonging to the “Missionaries of Christ Jesus” at a small village, Mendal, along the national highway leading to Tura on December 24, 1981.

Despite coming from diverse backgrounds and communities, yet they were linked together with deep faith and imbued with a vision to intervene in places and sectors which were uncharted.  Their keenness to provide services to the most deprived in a different way led to the establishment of the Society.

The society which started at a very small level has now expanded its activities which include disabilities to undergo medical treatment, giving them education and providing them with training for a sustainable livelihood.

The Society is involved in social work in as many as 600 villages in the State, half of which are in the Garo Hills, and it has helped train people to start Self Help Groups in as many as 300 villages.

One of the founder members of the Society, Sister Rosario Lopez, who arrived from China to participate in the celebrations, paid rich tributes to her pioneering colleagues and further enumerated the motto of the organization.

The Executive Director of Bethany, Carmo Noronha, gave a brief idea on the working of the Society.  He said Meghalaya has a high number of people with disabilities and the present census put the figure at 6,000 “As long as there are people with disabilities the story of Bethany will never die because we are committed to ensure their well being,” said Carmo Noronha.  He also stressed on the need for the government and the NGOs to work as partners in this field to ensure maximum success.

Accepting the argument for a partnership, West Garo Hills Deputy Commissioner, P Sampath Kumar said the government is provided with a abundant funds while NGOs like  Bethany Society are gifted with the skills of mobilization.  “Both can do wonders in this field if we work together,” said Kumar. As part of the celebrations, specially challenged children displayed their skills at singing and playing of musical instruments to the delight of the audience gathered.

Source: Bethany Society 25 years of work with the disabled, Assam Tribune, Daily,Guwahati 13 November 2006.

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