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Disability News India (DNI)

Disability News India (DNI), is a disability News service dedicated to providing a quality up-to-date information to the Indian Disability. DNI's news section is updated two times a week, though we also add breaking stories as and when they occur.



Disability News India – September 2009 Issue



High Court asked Delhi government to send children with disabilities to school

New Delhi, Sep 23: The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the Delhi government to conduct a door–to–door survey to find out children with disabilities and send them to school.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice Manmohan asked Delhi's Education Secretary to oversee the survey so that no child with disability is deprived of the right to education.

"Many parents are reluctant (to admit) that their child is having some disability. So to ensure that every child is educated, there is a need to conduct mapping of such children," the bench said.

The court has asked the Delhi government to reply by Oct 28. The court was hearing a public interest petition by Social Jurists, an NGO which contended that many schools deny admission to children with disabilities.

The court had last week asked the government to appoint two special teachers for disabled students in the 3–000 state–run schools in Delhi.

The order is valid for schools run by the Delhi government, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the New Delhi Municipal Council. http://www.thaindian.com

Source: http://www.expressindia.com

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Cochlear to launch technologies for hearing impaired

Mumbai, 22 Sep: A higher generation of implantable hearing technology is slated to be soon released in India by Cochlear Limited, engaged in cochlear and bone conduction implant technology. The company is releasing three new technologies ? Cochlear Hybrid, Cochlear Nucleus 5, and Cochlear Baha BP100 ? designed for hearing impaired people across a wide spectrum.

"For more than 25 years now, Cochlear has focused on developing technologies which addressess different types of hearing loss. The three new offerings have been designed for unique needs of people suffering from partial deafness, moderate to profound deafness, and single–sided deafness. Each one is, more sophisticated and more feature rich than ever before, and that means a world of sound can be opened up to millions of people," says Mark Salmon, president, Asia Pacific, Cochlear Limited.

Cochlear Nucleus 5 is thin, strong, stylish and an easy–to–use for both adults and children experiencing moderate to profound hearing loss. Cochlear Hybrid addresses distinctive needs of people with steeply sloping hearing losses in the high frequency region.

On the other hand, Cochlear Baha BP100 is supposed to be world's first hi–tech direct bone conduction sound processor that can automatically process sound. Also, this device delivers more than 25 per cent improvement in speech understanding in noisy situations. It comes in a range of colours and also has a Europin audio connector for lifestyle accessories such as FM systems, MP3 players and Bluetooth adaptors.

Source: http://www.business–standard.com

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National Convention of State Viklang Manchas organised by HRLN

People with disabilities gathered in New Delhi for their rights
New Delhi: People with disabilities, groups and organisations of disabled persons from the rural parts of India came together in New Delhi to bring their demands and issues to the forefront on the 18th and 19th of September 2009. The two–day National Convention of State Viklang Manchas, organized by the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), dealt with various issues of disability such as their right to vote, right to food, right to employment, right education, etc. The inaugural session was addressed by Ms. Poonam Natarajan, Chairperson of the National Trust; General Ian Cardozo, Chairperson of the RCI; and Deputy Chief Commissioner of Disability, Shri. T.D. Dhariyal.


People with disabilities gathered in New Delhi for their rights Recently, there have been several debates surrounding the non–inclusion of persons with disabilities in different fields, and the denial of rights to them. The voices of persons with disabilities have been becoming more audible in demanding their rights, and in inspiring a movement towards a society that is inclusive and just for all.

Active sharing by the Viklang Manchas threw light on their various achievements is advocating their rights, as well as the obstacles they faced in this process. Suggestions were made for eliminating discrimination through greater sensitization towards disability from all sections of society. Issues of accessibility, certification and employment were evident in most of the discussions.

The Convention also included inspiring and interactive talks by eminent speakers such as Prof. Anil Sadgopal, Prof. Anita Ghai and Senior Advocate Colin Gonsalves. On the last day, around 200 disabled activists from 17 states led a demonstration outside Jantar Mantar. Seven delegates were sent to the Prime Minister's Office, where his secretary received the memorandum, and assured the activists that an initiative for action will be taken and communicated on Tuesday.
People with disabilities gathered in New Delhi for their rights
The memorandum, dealt with various issues, such as; consulting disabled persons in amending all laws and policies in accordance with the UN Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities; inclusion of all disabled children in the Right to Education Bill which was passed recently by the parliament; ensuring that the mandated 3% quota for employment of disabled persons is filled up; making currency notes accessible to persons with visual disabilities, and making all public buildings accessible to disabled persons; simplifying the process of obtaining disability certification; and reservation in special compartments for disabled persons.

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Hearing impaired girl wins legal battle against Gujarat Technological University

AHMEDABAD, 19 Sep: A 17–year–old girl with hearing impairment, Rachna Shah, heaved a sigh of relief when she was allowed to take her diploma exams on Friday after a prolonged legal battle for justice. The Gujarat Technological University (GTU) had to permit her to appear for the test after a Gujarat High Court order in her favour on Thursday. The decision came after irregularities were detected in the evaluation of her answer sheets of remedial tests.

Rachna's fight against the university and education system was not only for herself, but for all those physically challenged students who are discriminated against by state's education authorities. After clearing the boards last year, Rachna enrolled in a diploma course in electronics and communication. Just before she was to take her second semester exams, GTU changed the medium of study to English. Rachna had all along studied in Gujarati medium.

To her shock, she was declared failed in all six subjects. The university provided remedial tests for three subjects, but she was passed in one subject only. She appeared in the mid semester test and secured 67.7 per cent, but was not allowed to attend classes from April this year because she did not clear all the papers in the remedial tests.

She sensed some problem either in calculation of marks or in evaluation of her answer sheets. Rachna requested the authorities to show her answer sheets, which they refused. Ultimately, she approached the officer appointed under the RTI Act, but was shown her copies from a distance only and that too only the first page of the answer book.

She approached the Gujarat High Court demanding transparency in evaluation system, to fix 20 per cent criteria as passing score for disabled students, and to allow her to sit in the third semester. But the judge refused to entertain her application. Ultimately, a division bench of Chief Justice KS Radhakrishnan and Justice Akil Kureshi heard her case. The judges were furious over the university's attitude towards this physically disabled student.

On court's instructions, the university showed answer sheets to Rachna, a team of subject experts re–assessed the copies, upgraded her marks in two subjects and reduced marks in three papers. A 10–member committee was also set up to inquire against the evaluators, who checked Rachna's answer sheets first. A show–cause notice was issued to evaluators asking them why they should not be debarred on counts of negligence and insincerity.

The court's order has not only smoothened things for Rachna alone, but will force GTU to make appropriate changes in its policy towards physically disabled students.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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New website to help disabled people find a match

CHENNAI, 17 Sep: It was a fervent, five–page letter from a young man in Sivaganga district saying that none of his 88 family members was willing to help him find a bride as he was disabled person that got G Chidambaranathan thinking. The president of the Tamil Nadu Handicapped Federation Charitable Trust (TNHFCT) says they'd received a number of similar appeals from well–educated, working professionals, both male and female, who were disabled people and could not find spouses and so came up with the idea of a swayamvaram and a matrimonial website for the community.

To be held on October 10 at YMCA grounds in Nandanam from 10 am to 4 pm, the swayamvaram will be a chance for disabled people to meet and spend time together. "About 80% of the disabled people in Tamil Nadu are unmarried, and of them 60% are women," says P Simmachandran, TNHFCT secretary. "Another issue is that people marry disabled women and then abandon them after a few months. We're hoping lots of people from the community will come forward and register for the swayamvaram," he says. Registration is free; they've received 60 applications so far and are hoping to attract at least 2,000 people.

"We recently had a job fair which was a success. We've been helping people with education and employment, so the next step is trying to help them settle into family life," says Simmachandran.

The fair's being organised in association with Advent Designs, the company that has designed the trust's website (www.tnhfctrust.in) and is in the process of starting up a matrimonial section for the disabled on it. "This is one of the ways to get the disabled integrated into the mainstream," says A Muthukumar, managing director, Advent Designs. The swayamvaram will also be webcast live on www.anytimemarry.com.

They're hoping the swayamvaram will popularise the trust's matrimonial section and prompt disabled people from across the state and even the country to sign up. "Society seems to think the disabled don't need the companionship of marriage," says Chidambaranathan. "We get so many letters from educated people who earn good salaries who say their own families are unwilling to consider them eligible matches."

They're also planning to select 100 couples and conduct free marriages in January next year. "These could be couples who meet through our swayamvaram or those who have fallen in love somewhere else but do not have the means to hold a wedding," says Simmachandran. And if their swayamvaram is a success, they'll take the model to cities across the state.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Appoint special teachers for disabled children: HC to govt

NEW DELHI, 17 Sep: Ten–year–old Usha Shukla attends school everyday but still failed in her examinations. It's not that she does not study, but she suffers from a hearing disability and she cannot cope with the regular lessons taught in the government run–school. Many children like Usha, with various mental and physical disabilities, have now a reason to rejoice with Delhi High Court on Wednesday directing the Delhi Government to provide special educators for them.

Taking a serious note of absence of special teachers for disabled students in government schools, a division bench comprising chief justice Ajit Prakash Shah and justice Manmohan asked the state government to appoint two such specialists in each of 3,000 state–run schools in the capital. The court also asked the government to ensure that these educators get all the facilities including salaries at par with the general teachers. The court's order came on a PIL filed by Social Jurist, an NGO through counsel Ashok Aggarwal, seeking a direction to the NCT government as well as the civic agencies not to deprive disabled children of their fundamental right to have education by appointing adequate number of specially trained teachers for them.

"It's not fair at all. Why these students are being suppressed by not being provided with basic facilities?,'' the court asked while directing the state government to ensure the teachers get every necessary equipments. The order is to be implemented in schools run by the Delhi government, MCD and NDMC.

The court also came down heavily on the state government for not admitting students on the basis of their disability. Counsel Aggarwal told the court that one of the disabled kids was denied admission by a state–run school as the principal said they did not have the facility for the child. "This is clearly contrary to our order dated February 19, 2009. It is made clear that no disabled child should be denied admission in school run by Delhi government,'' the bench said.

The government appointed committee's report on mapping the disabled students across the city was also criticized by the court, which pulled up the committee for doing it in an improper way. "Mapping is not done in schools. It is equally important and requires an extensive campaign having 200–300 people who will get the fair statistics,'' the bench said while directing the government to conduct door–to–door campaign to list the disabled students. In this regard, the court also directed the secretary, directorate of education, Rakesh Mohan, to appear before it for September 23.

According to counsel Aggarwal, out of two lakh disabled children, only 15000 are in private schools. "The future of the remaining children hangs lose with no facility being provided to them," he said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Kendriya Vidyalaya students with dyslexia say schools don't understand them

NEW DELHI: Twelve–year–old Raman Khanna (named changed), a student of Kendriya Vidyalaya (KV) in Janakpuri, with dyslexia and dyscalculia. His school says it doesn't know how to deal with students like him.

After ToI highlighted the plight of two dyslexic students in two indifferent schools in February this year, Raman appears to have become the latest victim of official ignorance.

Raman, a promising footballer and swimmer, is repeating Class VI after he failed to clear the exam. His school has not been able to provide him with a special educator. He does not receive extra attention in class, neither does he get instructions on homework in writing or a scribe during exams. The child's grandmother, Neeta Khanna (name changed), who has been bringing him up since his parents died a few years ago, now has nowhere to go. "If my grandson fails again this year, his school will throw him out. Where will I take him then? What's his fault that he has dyslexia? It's the teachers who should understand his special needs,'' she said.

U N Singh, joint commissioner (academics), KVS, pleaded helplessness as the sangathan has no guidelines in place on how to deal with students with special needs. "The primary problem we are facing is how to save the child as we have no rules for such problems. The dyslexia clause is not covered. We just take care of visually and orthopaedically challenged students. At present we have no idea how to deal with this case,'' he said.

Another senior official said none of the KVs are prepared to deal with such students and there are no facilities such as special educators in the system. "This is not an exception. Of late, quite a few cases of special needs are emerging. But unfortunately most of the teachers and principals are insensitive to such issues or are completely ignorant. Such issues should be dealt with at the school level rather than at the headquarters, but since schools are not equipped and the principals are not proactive, we are not able to help the students,'' he said.

Neeta has been running from pillar–to–post since March. After spending several months meeting KVS officials, Neeta was reportedly informed last month that Raman could not be promoted. "I got him evaluated by a clinical psychologist and submitted the reports to the school as well as to the KVS officials. One of the officials told me that KVs don't have enough teachers to give extra attention to any child. I was also told that I should put him in a special school. They do not even understand the difference between learning difficulty and mental disability,'' she said.

While the MHRD has been making noises about reforming education, it appears not to have put its own house in order. The KVs are run by the Central government and funded by MHRD. According to Singh, dyslexia will figure at the next academic advisory committee meeting. But till the Sangathan changes its policy, the ordeal of Raman and his grandmother will continue.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Central Railways fined 49 passengers for travelling in compartments for disabled people

Compartment for Disabled People
Mumbai, 16 Sep: The Central Railway (CR) on Tuesday fined 49 commuters for travelling in a (pictured) compartment meant for people with disabilities. According to railway officials, the drive has been carried out in six local trains, five Kalyan– Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) locals and one Asangaon–CST local between 10 and 11 am.

According to Shriniwas Mudgerikar, chief spokesperson, Central Railway (CR), the administration had received several complaints (through SMSes and e–mails) alleging that several passengers travel in special compartments meant for people with disabilities. On Monday, a disabled commuter had also lodged a complaint with the railway authorities alleging the same.

RPF personnel and Travel Ticket Examiners (TTEs) also participated in the drive and collected fine amounting to Rs 11, 806 from the offenders.

"As per section 155 of the Indian Railway Act, a minimum amount of Rs 200 can be imposed on a person who is found to travel in a compartment meant for people with disabilities and he/she can be given simple imprisonment for four days, if he/she fails to give the fine. As per the Act, physically challenged persons should produce the necessary certificates issued by an authorised medical officer. A cancer patient can also avail of this service. Leave alone the first class and compartments meant for people with disabilities and cancer patients, commuters cannot enter the vendors' compartment also," Mudgerikar said.

"This is not an end to it. We will soon conduct similar surprise checks so that such travelling can be curbed," added Mudgerikar.

Source: http://www.expressindia.com

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Bachelor's programme in sign language introduced by IGNOU

14 Sep: A Bachelor's programme in sign language has been introduced by Indira Gandhi National Open University (Ignou). A four–year programme, it entails a one year foundation course that imparts English language and sign language skills. Students who have completed class X are eligible for the programme.

"As far as learning needs of the hearing impaired are concerned, there is a lack of awareness. This is reflected in the dearth of quality course materials and infrastructural paucity in our country," says PR Ramanujam, director, Staff Training and Research Institute of Distance Education (STRIDE), Ignou. "Even policy statements of the government regarding education for the hearing impaired fall short of addressing their 'specific' needs. However, the foremost challenge is the lack of trained teachers."

The first graduate programme for the hearing impaired in India, it also hopes to address the challenge of unemployment. According to a recent estimate, only 5% of the hearing impaired children attend schools in India.

"This course has been developed in collaboration with the International Centre for Sign Languages and Deaf Studies (iSLanDS) at the University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) in the UK. This partnership will help us leverage their relatively more sophisticated teaching methodologies and course materials for the benefit of our students through exchange programs. We are being able to understand how specific technologies can assist and augment learning for hearing impaired students. This understanding is also useful for developing new learning assistive technologies and replenishing our computer labs for the benefit of students," he explains.

Ram Das, a history student from St Stephen's College, who is visually impaired, used around 150 audio–cassettes in class X and 250 in class XII for his studies. But then, he points out that it was cumbersome when it came to searching subjects and chapters. But now, with the 'Audio Book Reader' (ABR) recently launched by Samadrishti, Kshamata Vikas Evam Anusandhan Mandal (Saksham), an NGO, things are likely to be better.

The ABR is a pocket size device that reads the audio tracks stored in a Multimedia Memory Card (MMC) with random access to any subject, book or chapter. With a storage capacity of 60 hours in 2 GB capacity memory card, it provides the facility of putting the entire curriculum in a pocket, in a specified language, as per the need. It can be operated through a voice menu and embossed buttons and has a rechargeable battery backup of eight hours. Another advantage is that ABR can also be used as a group–hearing device by attachment of external amplispeakers or audio distributor.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Government shows apathy for the needs of disabled children

Ludhiana, 13 Sep: Going by the past record, it would not be wrong to say that as far as Centre's policies on special children are concerned, they are rarely been implemented. This was stated by Anil Joshi, General Secretary, 'Pariwaar' – a National Federation of Parents Organisation having 170 NGOs working for special children as its member.

"The state–level bureaucrats have no time to implement these projects and policies so the plans remain in papers only. In 1999, when National for Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Act 1999 came into existence –– autism, intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy and multiple disabilities were debated as disabilities. Policies were made but never implemented."

Joshi was in the city today to attend the third regional parents' meet held under joint banner of the National Institute of Mentally Handicapped and Pariwaar and organised by Ashirwad – The North India Cerebral Palsy Association, Ludhiana.

Talking to the Indian Express, Joshi said, "Not only government but parents' apathy is also ignoring special children. Parents need to come out of the murk and make efforts to bring their wards to the mainstream. There is a dire need to make people sensitive towards such children."

Reacting to the callous attitude of different political parties, Amarjeet Singha Anand one of the members of Pariwaar, said, "In the recent Lok Sabha elections, Pariwaar wrote letters to all political parties to consider special children in their agendas but none paid heed to it. In Punjab, parents hide their special children from the society. I have instances where families had arranged for a caretaker and hardly bothered to take her/her to social functions. The situation is more precarious in the rural areas."

"Parents in Bengal and South India are more sensitive to such kids. Being a part of an NGO, we have planned to run an awareness campaign in the state."

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com

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Disability activists fight for wheelchair access inside Jagannath Temple

Jagannath Temple
BHUBANESWAR, 12 Sep: Activists fighting for rights of disabled people on Saturday demanded that wheelchairs be allowed inside the (pictured) Jagannath temple like it is in other pilgrimages of the country. Priests do not allow people on wheelchairs or with crutches inside the temple as they believe that such equipment are impure.

"This violates religious rights of people with disability, which is a fundamental right. They must be allowed to worship the way they want to," said advocate Mrinalini Padhi, a Cuttack–based social activist and lawyer, who has taken the lead in the campaign. This not only prevents the disabled from entering the temple but also patients and elderly people.

Recollecting an embarrassing experience, Shruti Mohapatra, a disability rights activist and also a wheelchair–bound person said, "A priest told me that my disability was due to the sins I committed in my last birth and I should not sin more by entering the temple. It will be better if I go back."

"This is not only undignified but also painful for a person with disability to be carried by four persons into the temple," she said. The activists said though they have written to the temple administration many times about it, there has been no response. So a group of wheelchair–bound devotees would go to the temple on October 2 and request the authorities to allow them into the temple.

"Filing a PIL would be the easiest option but we want the temple authorities to understand the issue and religious sentiments of the people with disability," said Padhi.

The activists said while most of the famous pilgrimage places like Sidhhi Vinayak temple, Shridi Sai temple, Vaishno Devi and Akshardham temple have access to wheelchairs, not a single temple in Orissa has this facility.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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PM unhappy with scheme for disabled people

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
New Delhi, 9 Sep: Seventeen months ago, the government had planned to provide one–lakh jobs annually to disabled people in the private sector by giving incentives to companies. But instead of about 1.5 lakh jobs that should have been generated by now, the figure stands at a low of 119. A mere 0.08 per cent of the intended target.

Addressing a conference of state ministers of welfare and social justice on Monday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made his displeasure clear at the progress of the ambitious Public–Private Partnership (PPP) scheme.

Ironically, the Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry's recently released annual report 2008–09 listed the scheme under the "major achievements" of the year.

The offer to private companies under the scheme said, hire disabled and the central government will pay the employer's contribution to the Employees Provident Fund and Employees State Insurance for the first three years for employees earning up to Rs 25,000 a month.

But the scheme having a total outlay of Rs 1,800 crore for the 11th Five Year Plan –has simply failed to take off.

The Prime Minister said: "This scheme has been in operation since April 1, 2008.

However, it has unfortunately not made much headway in the last one–and–a–half year."

Three days ago, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Mukul Wasnik, too, had rebuked officials of the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation, and said: "Whether problems are with the states or my ministry, these have to be sorted out."

At the same meeting Social Justice secretary K.M. Acharya admitted, "The response is not adequate."

He listed two reasons for the failure. First, the economic slowdown made companies reluctant to hire –– a reason the Prime Minister, too, has cited.

Second, central and state governments could not publicise the scheme extensively.

Source: Hindustan Times

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'Disability Act should conform to UN model'

New Delhi, 8 Sep: On a day Taare Zameen Par won the national award for being the 'best family welfare entertainment film', Prime Minister Manmohan Singh authenticated the need for an attitudinal shift towards persons with disabilities.

At a conference of state welfare ministers, Singh said India lagged in adopting the correct – human rights – approach on the subject. He said the Persons with Disabilities (PWD) Act, 1995 would be "comprehensively" amended to conform to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), enforced in May 2008. India is a UNCRPD signatory.

"I found in each one of them (persons with disabilities) a determination to live productive lives and make their individual contributions to society. We should give them every possible opportunity to do so. They need equal opportunities as equal citizens with special needs," he said.

The UN convention redefines the old approach of viewing persons with disabilities as "objects" of charity, medical treatment and social protection. The PWD Act, to a large extent, suffers from the same shortcoming with the state becoming the 'provider' – sometimes the 'facilitator' – for persons with disabilities. Experts said other legislations on the subject also suffer from the old mindset and rather than "comprehensive amendments", a new set of laws was necessary.

The UN convention sees people with disabilities as "subjects" with rights, capable of claiming those rights and making decisions for their lives based on their free and informed consent as well as being active members of society. "The PWD Act lists seven disabilities – blindness, low vision, leprosy– cured, hearing impairment, locomotor disability, mental retardation and mental illness. The UN convention doesn't restrict the definition. It talks of higher support need as a matter of right," said Poonam Natarajan, chairperson of the National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities. "A person is not disabled; it is the environment that makes him so. Their legal capacity must be redefined.

They should have full control over decision–making and choices," she said. The Prime Minister described persons with disabilities as those having "evolving capacities". After enforcement of the UN convention, the focus shifted to providing equal opportunities to persons with disabilities so that their potential could be harnessed.

"The medico–charity model needs to be dumped. Disability, simply, is diversity. It means the right to live with dignity and equal opportunities. The mindset of the administrative machinery, however, is no different from most of society where stigma is associated with disability," said a senior IAS officer working in the sector.

Last year, the government had announced an incentive scheme to promote employment of persons with disabilities in the private sector. The Prime Minister pointed out the scheme hadn't made much headway. " This may partly have been because of the economic slowdown. But as our economy is now emerging from its slowdown phase, I urge the corporate sector to respond handsomely in the implementation of the scheme," he said.

Source: http://indiatoday.intoday.in

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Bollywood begin to embrace disability characters in movies

MUMBAI: From "One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest" to "Children Of A Lesser God", "My Left Foot" and "Rain Man", Hollywood has a long history of portraying people with disabilities or illnesses on screen.

In contrast, India's popular Hindi–language film industry has traditionally shied away from real–life subjects, preferring flights of fancy on romantic love.

But now three major upcoming films are portraying a central character with a disability or illness, marking a shift away from fantasy to treating more contemporary themes.

Amitabh Bachchan, 66, stars alongside his son Abhishek, 33, in "Paa" (Father), out later this year. Their real–life relationship is reversed on screen, with Amitabh playing Abhishek's son.

Bachchan senior's character has the rare genetic condition progeria, which leads to premature ageing and affects about one in six million children worldwide.

Shahrukh Khan, known for his romantic hits, plays a man with Asperger's Syndrome in his latest offering, "My Name Is Khan", which also deals with the treatment of Muslims in the United States after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Hrithik Roshan, meanwhile, portrays a wheelchair user in "Guzaarish" (Wishes) alongside Abhishek Bachchan's wife, Aishwarya Rai, in a film due out next year.

The films follow the recent release of "Shadow", an action thriller starring Nasser Khan, who is blind, and Tamil–language (Tollywood) film "Nadodigal" (Nomads), with actress Abhinaya, who cannot hear or speak.

Both films made headlines in India because of the actors' disabilities, as Nasser Khan plays a character who can see in the movie and Abhinaya lip–synched dialogue that was later dubbed in. "My Name Is Khan" producer–director Karan Johar admitted recently that the film's subject matter was a departure for Bollywood and had surprised some fans.

"When I was shooting... in Los Angeles, many NRIs (non–resident Indians) came and asked me if there were interesting romantic songs in the film," he said. "I said, 'no' and they were quite disappointed. This film would be completely different for me as I have never dealt with this kind of subject."

Khan, who took a risk by playing a field hockey coach and abandoning his clean–shaven look for a beard in the successful offbeat film "Chak De India" in 2007, acknowledged that exploring new themes was a risk.

"If a film is a hit everyone praises it. If it is a flop then everyone says you chose a wrong subject," he said. "I feel you never know what will work." For Bachchan, Bollywood's most recognisable star at home and abroad, "Paa" is not new territory.

Last year, he made his first English–language film, "The Last Lear", while in "Black" (2005), he played a teacher with Alzheimer's Disease who falls in love with a student (Rani Mukherjee) who is deafblind and without speech.

Leading actor Aamir Khan also made his directorial debut in 2007 with the film "Taare Zameen Par" (Stars On Earth), about a child with dyslexia.

The low–budget film, made for under 50 million rupees (one million dollars), was a critical and commercial success, taking a reported 700 million rupees at the box office. It was also entered for this year's Oscars and applauded for raising awareness of dyslexia, thought to affect some one in 10 people.

Just as "Rain Man" and "Philadelphia" brought greater awareness of autism and HIV/AIDS, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali said he wants "Guzaarish" to be "inspirational and not some depressing and defeatist story of physical disability".

This attitude is gaining greater currency in star–driven Bollywood, where movie stars and producers have to work harder to attract and keep audiences, as other forms of entertainment like cable television and DVD rentals increase. Veteran producer Mukesh Bhatt suggested that Bollywood would experiment more in the future. "I feel our film industry has realised that it is not the stars that sells at the box office but a good story," he said.

Source: AFP

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Books at doorstep: Project for disabled people and senior citizens kicked off

CHANDIGARH, 9 Sep: UT administration project envisaging taking the library to doorsteps of senior citizens and disabled was kicked off on International Literacy Day on Tuesday. More than 25 calls that had senior citizens and disabled persons asking for different books and magazines were received by central state library on day one.

More than 50 librarians from different schools and public libraries attended the function held to launch the service. Besides librarians, 30 other educationists and noted personalities from educational institutions in Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali participated in the proceedings.

TS Central State Library organized a panel discussion on role of libraries in sustaining literacy initiatives.

A panel discussion marked the event. Dr Kulbir Kaur from College of Education, Dr RB Yadav from State Institute of Education, Neelam Nagpal, president of Chandigarh Librarians

Association and Parveen Khurana from Central State Library took part in the discussion.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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CIC launches new disabled friendly complaint website

New Delhi, Sep 8: The Central Information Commission today launched its new disabled friendly dedicated website for lodging complaints and appeals.

The new website 'www.rti.india.gov.in' has been designed in such a way by National Informatics Centre that even visually impaired can hear the instructions and details on the portal through speakers in their computers.

"With the help of screen reader, any visually challenged person can go through the entire web site. The system will prompt them to file the details and read out the instructions to them. It has been designed keeping the latest international guidelines for such web portals," Neeta Verma, Senior Technical Director with NIC said.

The new website was the need of hour as it was difficult to find relevant information on the present website of Central Information Commission.

Source: http://www.ptinews.com

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Ravenshaw University to start department of disability studies

CUTTACK, 5 Sep: Ravenshaw University is planning to start a Department of Disability Studies from the next academic session in July 2010 even as it pioneers the movement for barrier free campus and facilitating access to physically and mentally disabled students.

The premier university has collaborated with disability rights organisation Swabhiman to raise awareness on such an important issue. It is set to host as many as 12 awareness workshops on disability to generate basic understanding of persons with disability as well as their challenges, strengths and capabilities to become equal citizens. The focus is to enhance the capacity of various stakeholders for creation of a society which is free from both physical and attitudinal barriers.

The first workshop `Understanding Disability' was held recently in the Ravenshaw University campus. Chairperson of National Trust under Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Poonam Natrajan and Dr. Sruti Mohapatra of Swabhiman conducted the workshop.

All the speakers reckoned that persons with disabilities across the globe have strengths and abilities and are capable enough to contribute to the community and to the country at large. It is a collective responsibility to work towards the social inclusion of all as a civil society, they said.

Source: http://www.expressbuzz.com

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Banks pocketing funds meant for disabled people

NEW DELHI, 5 Sep: Banks and financial institutions have been pocketing an estimated Rs 724 crore annually by rounding up interest tax collections since 1993 despite a Supreme Court directive in 2004 that this money be used for creating a fund for implementation of the Disabilities Act to benefit disabled persons.

"Though a Trust headed by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) was set up, it appears that apart from starting a scholarship scheme for disabled students envisaging a maximum expenditure of Rs 1 crore per year from August 2008, nothing further seems to have been done," alleged a PIL in the Supreme Court on Friday.

Appearing for the petitioner, senior advocate Colin Gonsalves told a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan that the total sum due from the banks was now to the tune of Rs 10,000 crore and if it was given, implementation of the Disabilities Act would not require state funding at all.

He showed the 2004 judgment of the apex court on this issue. This made the Bench issue notice to the Centre. In 2004, the SC had directed: "Despite the progressive stance of the court and the initiatives taken by the government, the implementation of the Disabilities Act is far from being satisfactory. Disabled people are victims of discrimination in spite of beneficial provisions of the Act."

"We are therefore of the opinion that in the larger interest a fund for the aforementioned purpose be created with the amount at the hands of the Union of India and the appellants and other concerned banks, which may be managed by the CAG," it had said.

"We would request the CAG to effect recoveries of all the excess amount realised by the Union of India by way of interest tax and interest by the banks and other financial institutions and create the corpus of such fund therefrom. The appellants and other concerned banks are also hereby directed to contribute to the extent of Rs 50 lakh each in the said fund," the SC had said in its 2004 judgment.

Gonsalves said as against Rs 5,000–10,000 crore which ought to have been collected, the amount collected is approximately Rs 150 crore of which Rs 1 crore has been earmarked for a scholarship scheme for disabled students.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Rehabilitation University for Disabled People inaugurated

LUCKNOW, 4 Sep: In a bid to usher in a ray of hope among physically challenged in the state, Dr Shakuntala Misra Rehabilitation University for disabled people, the first university of its kind was on Friday inaugurated here.

Speaking during the inaugural function, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati said that the university would provide quality education to disabled people, so as to help them get better employment opportunities and make them self reliant.

This university would also help create a better educational system for disabled people, the CM said adding that her government has taken a number of steps for providing disabled students better facilities and has got them implemented in record time.

Mayawati also claimed that the steps taken by the government for the welfare of disabled people was being lauded even at the national level and also gave a detailed account of them.

Terming the said university as only of its kind in Asia, she said that in order to ensure smooth functioning of the varsity, her government has arranged Rs 397 crores in the first phase.

Fifty per cent seats would be reserved for disabled people students in all the courses out of which fifty per cent would be reserved for the blind, she said adding that in the first year it would run six courses including B.Ed.

The university would have a special faculty for studies of subjects related to disabilities with separate departments for different disabilities.

A research wing for studies on how to overcome various disabilities would also be opened, she added.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Disabled people protest seat reservation in the Railways

2 Sep: Members of the Federation of Tamil Nadu Handicapped Association on Tuesday held a protest demonstration in front of the War Memorial in support of their demands. They wanted disabled–friendly railway coaches and said that the conversion of unreserved disabled–friendly coaches into reserved ones was not adequate.

In a letter to the association, chief commercial manager S Anantharaman said: "Southern Railway understands your distress over the issue. It is pointed out that this order has been given by the Railway Board and the instructions are being merely carried out.'' He said that reservation of four berths for disabled people was done with the sole aim of providing more comfort and convenience to a physically challenged person. Anantharaman assured the association that their demands would be looked into at the earliest.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Fill up teaching posts for special education course: GDN

PANAJI, 2 Sep: The Goa Disability Network (GDN) has given the state government a three day ultimatum to sanction two teaching posts for the B Ed special education course, failing which it would stage a demonstration on Teachers' Day – September 5.

In a letter to chief minister Digambar Kamat and education minister Atanasio Monserrate, GDN convenor Avelino de Sa said that the Nirmala Institute of Education, Altinho, upon a request from NGOs working with the differently abled in Goa, had started a B Ed special education course in June, 2008 to cater to the shortage of special educators in Goa.

The course is approved by the Rehabilitation Council of India and the Goa University. The state government, besides approving the course, also sanctioned a grant of Rs 9 lakh last year towards financial assistance to the Nirmala Institute of Education to operate it.

'This is the only degree course in Goa in special education. In June, 2008, the Nirmala Institute of Education had applied to the directorate of higher education for a sanctioning of 2 posts of lecturers and 3 posts of administrative staff for a strength of 25 students. However, despite various reminders the directorate has not yet sanctioned the required staff,' the GDN letter stated.

The body said although it had written to the state disability commissioner on June 16 this year, the problem has not been solved till date.

'We wish to bring to your notice that if the directorate of higher education does not sanction the required posts, the Nirmala Institute of Education will have no option but to stop the course. Hence, we are forced to issue you this ultimatum of three days to resolve the issue, failing which we will be forced to hold a dharna on September 5 – Teachers Day,' the GDN stated.

'We would also like to put on record our protest over the government not extending the interest–free laptop scheme to the teachers of special schools. We demand that you do not discriminate against teachers of special schools and extend the scheme to them also,' the GDN letter to the government stated.

GDN is a network of 20 NGOs working for the welfare of disabled people in Goa.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Online CAT poses new test for disabled people

BANGALORE, 2 Sep: Anup (name changed) with cerebral palsy, but he never found it challenging to prepare for the Common Admission Test (CAT) for the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).

This time, he is apprehensive as there is no mention of providing a scribe/reader for cerebral palsy –– only visually–impaired students are entitled to one. Anup's fear is compounded by the fact that CAT 2009 will be a computer–based test.

According to CAT FAQs 2009, visually impaired students appearing for CAT are provided with a scribe/reader. "There is no mention of how students with cerebral palsy will write the tests this year, because the paper–pencil format have been done away with and the FAQs have left out if we will have a scribe at all,'' said another student.

IIMs will conduct the test for 10 days, starting November 28 to December 7, where the candidate appears only once during the 10–day testing window. Candidates are given an opportunity to select the test date and time of their choice.

Anup, who is appearing for the CAT for a third time, had taken the help of a scribe in the past. "When I wrote CAT in 2005 and 2008, a scribe read the questions and marked the answers. I cannot mark the answers on my own. In all my exams from Class 7 to degree, a scribe was provided. I fail to understand how IIMs left out cerebral palsy candidates this year," said the BCom graduate who works as an analyst in a reputed firm.

Fortunately, two of his visually–impaired friends managed to get scribes. Students with disabilities like Anup are now planning to approach the CAT committee for help.

IIM–Bangalore PGP admission chairperson Subashish Gupta told TOI that they have received a similar case. "We will forward the request to the CAT committee, Ahmedabad, to look into the matter," he added.

Audio software could help too – Vaishnavi Kasturi, who is visually–impaired and appeared for CAT 2006, told TOI that CAT was disabled–friendly. "We are allowed to take a scribe. In fact, the process of approving the scribe was also fast. Since CAT is going online, it would be better if IIMs installed a special software for visually impaired candidates where so they can hear the text," said this business analyst from MindTree.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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SC wants 3% job quota for people with disabilities

NEW DELHI, 1 Sep: Visually impaired, hearing impaired and physically disabled persons can soon expect the Centre to advertise a large number of vacancies for jobs in various departments of the government.

For, the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday asked the Centre what was holding it back from identifying and filling posts reserved under the Persons with Disabilities Act, which was enacted in 1995 mandating a job quota of 1% each for visually challenged, hearing impaired and physically disabled people.

Though it did no agree with the petitioner's counsel Mukul Rohtagi that 3% of the total cadre strength of each department should be filled with these three categories of disabled persons, the Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justices P Sathasivam and B S Chauhan said it had no quarrel with the proposition that they should have got 3% of the vacancies declared since 1996, when rules under the Act were framed.

However, it expressed displeasure over the fact that the government had not acted in accordance with the mandate of the Act in identifying posts in each department and giving 3% reservation to the categories mentioned in the Act.

Appearing for the Centre, additional solicitor general Mohan Parasaran informed the Bench that the identification of the posts in each department was being done and they would be advertised shortly.

The Bench asked the Centre to file a comprehensive status report within four weeks detailing the steps taken to identify the posts and the measures taken to fill them.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Delhi HC directs Centre to amend its insurance rules for disabled people

The Delhi High Court directed the Central government to reconsider its postal insurance rules and to treat the persons with disability at par with other people.

Appearing on behalf of the government, Solicitor General (SG) Gopal Subramanium assured the court that the government will take broad base consultation with experts and also take advice from the insurance regulator and draft a fresh policy which will have no disparity for disabled people.

A bench comprising Chief Justice A P Shah and Justice Manmohan directed the government to file their reply to the court within four weeks as to what will be their stand in this regard.

Fixing the matter for October 7, the court told the SG to revisit the Postal Insurance Policy as they have taken all disabled people under one category.

"When fixation of the policy is to be done, then you must consider the distinction between various types of disability as well as mortality factor caused by it. Moreover, life expectancy and other factors should also be taken into account," Justice Shah said.

A petition in this connection was filed by one Vikas Gupta, an Assistant Professor in Department of History, Delhi University, who is visually impaired.

In his petition he said,"Rules of the postal insurance for government employees is discriminatory as it gives a cover of Rs 5 lakh to a normal person, but a handicap has to pay much more premium and gets an insurance cover of Rs one lakh only." The Lawyer for the petitioner Mr Pankaj Sinha, also a visually impaired, and lawyer Ms Roma Bhagat told the court that Article 25 E of United Nations Convention On Rights for Personal Disability (UNCRPD) prohibit discrimination in the insurance policy.

Ms Bhagat told the court that their research has shown that those who are hearing impaired, visually impaired or orthopedically impaired are less prone to accidents as they have less mobility and are more cautious.

She told the court that there is no data available in India to show the cause of death as the death certificate does not mention it. Also, there is no data to suggest that disabled are more prone to accidents so why they have to pay more to get a less insurance cover, Ms Bhagat said.

Source: http://www.indlawnews.com

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Activists pitch for rights of disabled people ahead of assembly elections

PUNE, 31 Aug: As the assembly elections draw near, social organisations in the city have prepared a proposal for the welfare of disabled people, women, children and senior citizens, to be sent to the various political parties.

Madhav Panse, social welfare officer at disability Helping (based in Sanjeevan hospital) and representatives of organisations like International Longevity Centre–India and Apang Udyog Kendra, an organisation which works for the uplift of disabled people, have formulated the proposal to highlight the need of the hour.

"We will send this proposal to different political parties in the next two days. Basically, among the voters, the most neglected are disabled people, women, children and senior citizens. We want to make the MLAs aware of their problems so that they take cognisance of the same in their election manifesto," Panse said.

"More than half of them (the neglected sections), especially the disabled in the rural areas, are not aware of various government programmes and schemes meant for their benefit."

One of the key points in the proposal is the need for political parties to set up information desks at various wards across the city to make the necessary information available to disabled people. "These parties should survey people in various pockets of the city, prepare a database on their needs and cater to them immediately," Panse said.

The need for a representative of disabled people in Vidhan Sabha and Vidhan Parishad, the formation of a commission, and the requisite announcement and implementation of an action plan by the government for disabled people, children, women and senior citizens, are some of the other key points mentioned and elaborated in the proposal.

"There is also a need to propagate barrier–free architecture in all buildings, public or private. We are also sending a copy of the proposal to the Pune Municipal Corporation," said Panse.

The proposal also stresses on the need to make travelling for disabled people, especially within the state, easy and quick. "We have also mentioned the need for the issue of licences and permits to modified vehicles used by disabled people to be made easy and swift by the Road Transport Office (RTO)."

There is also a crying need for the government to create jobs for disabled people in rural and urban areas. "However, not all government schemes are implemented even though they are announced and made official. The Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation, which provides loans upto Rs 5 lakh, also needs to be pulled up, as the loan doesn't get sanctioned easily," Panse added.

Administrative difficulties regarding the rehabilitation of disabled people as per the Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992, is another serious matter that needs to be looked into, he said. "The government should not only supervise, but provide adequate facilities to bodies and agencies working to rehabilitate disabled people. This is another point our proposal stresses on."

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Patna station to be developed as disabled–friendly

PATNA, 30 Aug: Patna Junction has been selected to be developed as a disabled–friendly station of the Indian Railways. The railways has plans to provide more special facilities for disabled people at all major stations across the country.

According to senior divisional commercial manager (senior DCM) of Danapur division of East Central Railway (ECR) Om Prakash, the railways has so far provided facilities like separate booking counter, parking, waiting hall and toilets for disabled persons at Patna Junction. Even access ramps have been provided at Patna Junction for them while boarding trains from here to far off places, he said.

That apart, the railways has taken various steps to improve facilities for them at each major station under Danapur division. Keeping in mind the fact that disabled persons travel most of the time alone, the railways has provided `May I Help You Booth' on platform no. 1 at Patna Junction to render assistance to them in any emergency, the senior DCM said.

Under the new plan approved by the Railway Board, the railways has selected about 1,500 stations which would be developed as disabled–friendly stations at the country level for the convenience of disabled persons travelling by trains, the senior DCM said.

According to Danapur DRM Gyan Prakash Srivastava, the railways would offer special facilities like more access ramps and low height water taps for disabled passengers. Under the approved plan, the railways would develop these facilities at all important and B category stations phasewise, he said.

According to sources, the board has directed all zones of the railways to complete this ambitious project by the end of 2010 in the larger interest of disabled people. The railways would provide non–slippery walkway and special signage for physically disabled and visually impaired passengers at Patna Junction too, sources said, adding the railways would convert all major stations falling under category A and B into disabled–friendly stations across the country soon.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Good response to special coach for disabled people on long distance trains

CHENNAI, 29 Aug: Southern Railway has received good response to the reserved accommodation provided for disabled travellers in the special compartment near the guard's cabin on long–distance trains.

The railways stopped allowing disabled passengers with general tickets and began allowing only those with reserved tickets in the coach from August 1. This drew criticism from associations of disabled people in the state.

Now, Southern Railway is planning to introduce the specially–designed coaches on all trains.

There was 100% occupancy in the special coach in 39 trains, including the Chennai–Tuticorin Express, Chennai–Alleppey Express, Nagercoil–Mumbai Express, Chennai–Mangalore West Coast Express, Chennai–Mangalore Mail, Chennai–Madurai Pandian Express and the Chennai–Coimbatore Cheran Express.

Around 50% of the seats were utilised in trains like Podhigai Express, Nilgiri Express, Coimbatore–Chennai Cheran Express, Mangalore–Chennai Mail and Amirtha Express.

The quota remained unused in the Ernakulam–Nizamuddin Express, Ahmedabad–Chennai Express, Nethravathi Express and Guruvayur Express.

Southern Railway has said that any un–occupied seats in this coach should be allowed to be occupied by disabled persons with unreserved tickets, a press release said.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com

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Railways to run battery–operated cars at stations for disabled people

New Delhi, Aug 28 Extending a helping hand to disabled and elderly passengers, Railways have decided to operate battery–operated cars for them at major stations.

The small cars will operate round–the–clock to facilitate the needy passengers, a senior Railway Ministry official said. The service will be free.

The vehicles will be run by private operators who will be selected by the zonal railways under certain terms and conditions. Zonalrailways have been asked to work out details with the private operators for signing an agreement for a period of one year.

Railways will provide electricity for charging the batteries of the vehicles and operators will be allowed to advertise on the panel of these small four seater cars.

The modalities of selecting the operators and the possibility of revenue sharing are being worked out, he said.

Source: http://www.indopia.in

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