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Chennai

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Patna

Would you like to know what it is to be blind?

National Association for Blind (NAB), Karnataka hopes to make the public disabled-friendly by asking them to walk through busy city roads blindfolded.

The course of the walk will be a novel experience for sighted individuals. There would be one training programme where they all will be given a white cane and conduct an orientation programme to teach them the techniques of using the cane and its significance. Participants will also have their route instruction recorded on tape.

The walk for the sighted individuals was held on Saturday, October 15. The competition participants were 20 teachers from the city schools though the public was also invited to participate. To know more call: NAB at 25881590,25881439.

Source: A blind-folded peek into a special world. Deccan Herald, Bangalore, 30 September 2005

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Selling electronically

An exclusive website for disabled persons to market their products, touted to be the first kind, will soon be launched.

The website www.nandinivoice.org, an initiative of the NGO, Nandini Voice for the Deprived, would help disabled persons market their products online, for free.

NS Venkataraman (trustee Nandini Voice for the Deprived) said there are around 1.7 million disabled persons in Tamil Nadu alone. More than 90 percent of them belong to the lower income group and lack proper employment. The NGO encourages and trains disabled persons in skills to produce various products.

Although many exhibitions held to sell these products, but the sale duration is usually for one day. The advantage of launching this kind of website is that all disabled persons, including the mentally challenged, could use the website to sell their products and the price of the products would be fixed by the disabled persons themselves.

The NGO has entered into an agreement with 'Paypal', to make online payments for the products. Venkataraman explained through this, the buyers can put the money into the Paypal account, which would then be transferred to the accounts of the disabled.

As packing the products to meet international standards would be difficult for disabled persons, Nandini Voice for the Deprived will do the packing for free. Venkataraman said that Nandini is trying to find some packers who can offer them concessions.

A wide range of consumer products like dress materials, painting, dolls and handicrafts would be available online.

Venkataraman said by buying the products, people would actually be helping a disabled person and his/her family. About 120 disabled persons have registered so far and others are welcome.

Profiles, pictures of the disabled persons, their products and price details would be displayed on the website, to be launched on International Disabled Day, which falls on December 3.

Source: Disabled persons to market products via internet. Indian Express. Chennai, 28 September 2005.

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Is there any place for them?

The government has given a go-by to the disabled. This group, increasingly carving a place for itself in society will not be eligible for job-spinner sector of this age, non-governmental organisations.

The revised General Financial Rules (GFR), in force from July 2005, has not counted the disabled as being among the categories which can avail of the job quota in NGOs. Ironically, the GFR have includes OBCs, besides SC/STs, as categories eligible for job quota in voluntary organisations.

The old GFR, a product of the pre-Mandal Commission era, listed only SC/STs as groups eligible for job quota in NGOs. Since then, OBCs and disabled persons have been accepted under the quota regime.

The Social Justices and Empowerment Ministry has taken a dim view of the GFR and is likely to issue an order giving reservation to disabled persons in NGOs. The order will neutralize the cold shoulder in the financial rulebook.

Job reservation is mandatory in NGOs but is governed by the GFR. Two criteria are laid down for imposition of quota in the NGOs: they should employ over 20 persons and they should receive over 20 lakh as grant-in-aid. Interestingly, the new GFR has also raised the grant-in-aid limit from Rs 2 lakh to Rs 20 lakh. While the norms have been in existence for decades, they have never really been enforced.

Government sources said leaving out persons with disabilities from the quota flies in the face of the Persons with Disabilities Act, 1995. Section 33 of the Act prescribes that reservation in "establishments" which receive government grants should give reservation of 1 % each to the visually impaired, physically disabled and hearing impaired.

In fact, the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry, which works through NGOs in a big way, has ensured strict implementation of reservation.

Their periodic grants are approved only when they submit reports on the strength of their S/ST/OBC/ Disabled employees.

Source: No place for disabled quota in NGOs. The Times of India, New Delhi, 29 September 2005.

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Disabled-friendly bridges

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has decided to construct foot over bridges (FOBs) on some of the Capital's busiest roads for smooth traffic flow and at some of the prominent places in the Lutyens' zone. While one FOB will be constructed near Dilli Haat in INA Market, another will be on Shah Jahan Road near the UPSC office and four others at four different places. All of these FOBs will be disabled-friendly.

Among the four other FOBs, one will be constructed near the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital (RML) where there is a big roundabout, another near the St Thomas School on Mandir Marg, another at Connaught Place area on the Baba Kharag Singh Marg. The fourth one would be constructed either near the Sarojini Nagar market or near the Africa Avenue.

The NDMC has obtained the necessary clearances for the project from Delhi Traffic Police. As according to the Delhi Traffic Police, FOBs are safer than the subways. These will be used by pedestrians as the central verge on these roads will be fully covered till about a height of three feet. Such subway will avoid road accidents.

It may be noted that the pedestrians are not optimally using subways in the city and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had to shelve out its project after floating tenders spending Rs 25 lakh for the construction of some subways.

Source: Foot over bridges to be disabled-friendly. The Pioneer. New Delhi. 4 October 2005.

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Helping hands

About 600 persons with disabilities were given artificial limbs by the Indian Development Council (Delhi region) recently. Former LG of Delhi Mr. Vijay Kapoor was present on the occasion.

Council's member Mr. S Garg said that the council organized such functions from time to time to help the poor and the needy. Artificial limbs, crutches and wheel chairs were distributed amongst the handicaps.

Source: Viklang sammanit. Rajasthan Patrika, Jaipur, 3 October 2005.

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Special way of celebrating 60th anniversary

The Mahindra group of companies on occasion of its 60th anniversary has decided to give 60 deaf children belonging to poor families, hearing implants. In a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan, President APJ Abdul Kalam gave kits to 4 year old Nandini and 6 year old Parul. Kalam praised the company on its philanthropic vision.

M&M's chairman Mr. Keshub Mahindra said that many proposals were considered by the company to celebrate the occasion finally deciding on this. These kits will soon be available in the market.

Source: M and M ki 60vi varshgaanth pur badhir bachchon ko saugaat. Amar Ujala, Amar Ujala, 3 October 2005.

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McDonald: raising funds for a social cause

McDonalds India (North) has decided to collect money for the blind and economically weaker sections for a full year with the help of ORBIS International and Dr. Shroff Charity Eye Hospital. With this purpose in mind McDonalds organized "Hill of The World" painting competition while celebrating World Children Week. Some 10,500 children aged 4-12 participated.

Dancer Sonal Mansingh presented the awards to the 30 best participants. Greeting cards and calendars were unveiled on the occasion. Director, McDonalds Mr. Vikram Bakshi said that the winning entries will be made into greeting cards and calendars. The same is available for sale from all McDonald restaurants.

Source: Netraheeno ke liye dhan ektra karega McDonalds. Rashtriya Sahara, New Delhi, 27 September 2005.

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National Congress of Visually Challenged Women

Mr. BL Joshi (LG, Delhi) inaugurated the National Congress of Visually Challenged Women.

Mr. Joshi said that blind women should consider themselves as an integral part of the society and not think of themselves as physically deficient. Many welfare schemes are run by the government for such women. With the help of these schemes these women can not only earn their livelihood but also lead their lives with dignity. On the occasion a book titled: Uska Sapna" by Dr. Rekha Karda was inaugurated by the LG.

Source: Drishtiheen mahilayen khud ko samaaj ka mehtvapurn aung samjhe: Joshi. Veer Arjun, New Delhi, 29 September 2005.

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An extraordinary step

You may have heard that physically challenged people are asking for reservation of jobs for themselves but what if a blind person is asked to work as a presiding officer?

It's quite shocking! Right?

But in the race against time to set the poll machinery in order for the first phase elections, even the blind have not been spared this time. A few of them have been made presiding officers much to their bewilderment.

Meet Nawal Kishore Sharma (a teacher of History at the Muralidhar High School) Jehanabad. Sharma is blind, but he has been asked to report on election duty as presiding officer. Before that, he has to report for training on October 1, 6 and 15. He said that he is surprised how come the authorities have selected him for the presiding officer role.

Though he enquired about it from both the school authorities as well as the District Education Office, he could not ascertain where his name had been sent from for the election duty. "Both are passing the buck on each other. He said that the school says it never sent any list of teachers, while the DEO office says it had clearly mentioned 'blind' with his name.

Awarded the President's Medal in 1990 by the then President R Venkataraman, Sharma is now contemplating to take the matter to the district magistrate.

A statement in his own words: I do exercise my franchise without every election. But managing polling is an entirely different ball game; In fact, I make it a point to go to native village - Dhanarua in Patna - to cast my vote, but the responsibility has left me completely baffled.

But then, he is not an isolated case. There is another blind person - an employee of the Agricultural Department in Jehanabad - who has also been selected for the presiding officer duty, adding it was the first time such a thing had happened to him.

More than Sharma, however it is his family members who are jittery over the new assignment.

Source: Visually impaired on poll duty! The Hindustan Times, Patna, 30 September 2005.

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