Chandigarh, June 3

No less than an architectural marvel, Pierre Jeanneret’s chequerboard-style Panjab University has apparently failed its disabled students when it comes to accessibility.

The varsity’s buildings fail to comply with the ‘Harmonised Guidelines and Space Standards for Barrier-free built Environment for Persons with Disability and Elderly Persons’ as prescribed by the Ministry of Urban development in 2016. The guidelines include a 16-point Access Audit Checklist.

Diabetes and diabetes-related complications are on the rise. India and China are global leaders having the highest number of people with Diabetes Mellitus (DM). Diabetes, a multisystem disease, can affect small blood vessels (eye, kidney and nerves)and larger blood vessels in the body (heart and brain).

Bengaluru: India is home to the world’s largest visually impaired population at over 50 lakhs (according to the 2011 census). The country also tops the chart for the largest population of corneal blind in the world. Though many of these visually impaired people can be helped with vision, taboos surrounding organ donation has made the task herculean and left these disabled people behind.

The National Association for the Blind is organising online programmes on digital accessibility training for visually impaired people. This is important given the potential growth of job opportunities companies need people who can test websites and other digital mediums to ensure they are accessible for people with disabilities.

Chennai: Madras high court directed the authorities to allot a medical seat to a minor student with more than 40 % visual impairment. The court pointed out that the notification issued by the Medical Council of India dated February 4, 2019 making persons with visual impairment of low vision and blindness equivalent to or more than 40 per cent ineligible to join the medical course, would operate prospectively and it cannot be given effect to retrospectively.