General

Orchestra singer, milk-seller, farm labourer in blind WC team

New Delhi, January 24
One is a singer, one works at a farm, another sells milk—meet India’s Blind World Cup winning team members who are struggling to make ends meet in the cricket mad nation where many will become overnight millionaires in the IPL auction this weekend.
Cricket is religion in India and cricketers enjoy larger than life status but on the contrary, the champion blind cricketers continue to suffer due to unemployment and lack of recognition.

Tamil Nadu: Access remains distant dream for diffabled

TIRUCHY: Call it apathy or lack of awareness of rules, officials failed to provide basic facilities such as ramps and railings at the Anna Stadium where the annual sports meet for the differently-abled took place on Tuesday. With no arrangements in place, it was difficult for participants to reach the sporting arena. What was ironic was that the highest administrative officer in the district, Collector, inaugurated the event, but was unaware of the lack of facilities.

This Visually Impaired Professor Battled Huge Odds to Fulfil Her Dreams

Zarana Maheshwary was a two-year-old when she diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP)—a genetic disorder of the eyes which causes loss of vision, over a period of time. Her condition began to deteriorate when she was in Class 5, and she is currently completely blind.

‘Dinner in the dark’ to support visually-impaired

HIMALAYAN NEWS SERVICE

Dhangadi, January 22

A function named ‘Dinner in the dark’ was organised today in Dhangadi to provide financial assistance to the blind people of Kailali distirct.

Rotary Club of Dhangadi organised the programme to help blind people financially and encourage people to extend helping hands for the welfare of the visually impaired, according to programme coordinator Ganesh Bahadur Singh.

JPM lead the way in competitive world of blind kabaddi

Vinayak Padmadeo

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 21

After a huddle in the middle and chants of ‘JPM, JPM’, the team stuck together for few ‘selfies’ with the coaches and the support staff.

Railways to stop using the words blind, deaf and dumb, physically challenged

CHENNAI: The Railway Boardhas decided to replace the words 'blind,' 'deaf and dumb' and 'physically challenged' from concession forms with new words to describe the nature of disability. This was indicated in a policy circular dated January 12, which was released recently.

Key software for blind missing in colleges

PUNE: Most colleges in the city have not introduced the screen-reading software made compulsory for visually challenged students by the higher education department two years ago.
Vijay Narkhede, joint director of higher education for Pune division comprising Pune, Ahmednagar and Nashik said, "We had issued this circular in December 2015. All institutes have to introduce 'Jaws' or 'Lekha' software, screen reader programmes that convert text to speech or other mediums helping visually impaired candidates to attempt examinations."

Gurgaon: Visually impaired lead the way in this unique car rally

It was a car rally like no other, as visually impaired participants turned navigators and guided drivers with normal vision through rough terrain spanning 47 kilometres. The idea was to send out a message that disability is no bar to taking up any pursuit and breaking new grounds.

While the rally sought to raise general awareness on the importance of adhering to traffic rules, it also presented visually impaired people with an opportunity to overcome their disabilities and showcase their road navigating skills.

Here's proof that blindness is no barrier to app-making

Can blind people write programming codes?

The answer would be a firm yes as you watch them clustered around tables, putting their heads down and discussing what kind of apps to create in a 24-hour period at the hackathon held at the International Institute for Information Technology-Bangalore on Saturday.

The sighted people are not present to help them, but to partner with them in the effort.

Divyang’ replaces ‘viklang’ in Railways’ certificate to disabled

NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Railways has made formal changes in concession certificate issued to people with disabilities clearly listing out how they be addressed.

The move comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s suggestion in 2015 that persons with disabilities be addressed as ‘divyangs’ (divine bodies) instead of ‘viklang’. Interestingly, it took the Railways almost two years to formally make the changes in travel concession forms issued to people with disabilities.