Two decades ago, Bhavesh Chandubhai Bhatia lost his vision, and soon after, his 17-year-old job as a hotel manager. The same year, he exhausted his savings on his mother’s treatment for skin cancer.

A two-day programme titled ‘Samartha’, which was organised here for the visually-impaired children, concluded on Saturday. As many as 84 children from different schools and institutions participated in various sports and cultural events.

By moving his hands slowly over the walls, 14-year-old Vivek was, perhaps, trying to frame an imaginary design, and the contours of the structures were helping him feel the beauty and the marvel of the gigantic monument known as Gol Gumbaz. Visually impaired, Vivek had come with a group of 50 such students to witness the Gol Gumbaz not with his eyes but by his strong senses.

In a major relief to the visually impaired and physically challenged, the Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla has allowed them to engage a writer irrespective of his qualification in the exams, an official said Thursday. Vice Chancellor A.D.N. Bajpai has approved the examination policy as per the guidelines of the ministry of social justice and empowerment for students with disabilities, a university spokesperson said.

The National Association for the Blind (NAB) has extended help to visually-impaired Nilanchal Patra (31) of Tikarapada in Ganjam district by giving a tea, coffee and soup making machine to enable him to eke out a living.