BENGALURU: Not a single bus showcased at the eighth edition of the ongoing Busworld India at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC), on Tumakuru Road, were disable-friendly, activists rued on Thursday.

A conference was organised by Interads Exhibitions Pvt Ltd, Busworld International, in association with Association of State Road Transport Undertakings and Bus Operators Confederation of India at BIEC campus. There was a talk on ‘accessible public transportation for persons with disabilities’.

After the Supreme Court allowed medical aspirants suffering from low vision to get admission, the Delhi High Court has cleared the cases of admission of candidates with hearing impairments, specific learning disabilities and blood disorder-related disabilities into MBBS this year. All of these were cancelled earlier on the basis of Medical Council of India (MCI) guidelines and faulty medical boards.

JAGATSINGHPUR: Hundreds of persons with disabilities (PwDs) are deprived of benefits of Government schemes in the district as they do not possess identify certificates. Due to vacancy of specialists in the District Disability Board which issues certificates, PwDs are being forced to visit SCB Medical College and Hospital for the purpose. The board comprising specialists like mental, orthopaedics, ENT, eye, medicine and neurology was formed to conduct tests for issuing certificates to visually-impaired persons or those having mental problems, cerebral palsy or autism.

In a significant order, the Supreme Court has allowed a person suffering from ‘low vision’, a disability in which the eyesight cannot be corrected or improved, to pursue the MBBS course and treat patients. The top court allowed a student to pursue MBBS on the ground that he has cleared the 2018 National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) in the category of Persons with Disability. A bench of Justices Arun Mishra and Indira Banerjee held that the petitioner “cannot be denied admission to the MBBS course if he qualifies as per his merit in the category of Persons with Disability.

A library of audiobooks opens up the world in exciting ways for visually challenged students

The campus of the Helen Keller Memorial Association For The Blind is abuzz. The carpets on the floor and the shamiana lend it a festive mood. Students dressed in their best walk around and there is a barely contained excitement in the air. The reason for this? An audiobooks and Braille library that has just recently been launched.