His world is dark. Still, 50-year-old Raja has to work for a living in order to look after his family consisting of a wife and two children.
He is usually to be found inside a small shack on the uneven pavement opposite the Pandiyan pastry shop from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. His frail and malnourished body is often hidden behind the piles of coconuts .
As a person with visual impairment, the experience of disability has been a routine one for me, and disability studies constitutes a significant part of my academic engagement as well. I have also been involved with the activities of the disability rights movement. Your editorial “Disabled by Lack of Political Will” (EPW, 11 January 2014) was a timely intervention in the evolving debates on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill that was cleared by the cabinet in December 2013.
Artist Owen McCafferty listens as teacher JoAnn DePolo offers him advice on skin tone and brush strokes.
He takes in her words, nodding, before placing his face close to the canvas and getting down to business.
McCafferty, 51, is like many artists — creative and determined to express himself through his work. But he differs from most for one noticeable reason — he is visually impaired.
Individuals with low vision have partial sight that cannot be corrected with surgery, medications, contact lenses, or glasses, Sylvia Perez explained as Lighthouse executive director.
Following instructions from navigators, 100 visually impaired people will drive cars in the second editition of BMR which will be flagged off from the institute and will also end there.
The navigators will give instruction on the basis of Braille route map and the registration fee of the participant is Rs. 1,500.
A hostel has been opened for disabled students who wish to pursue higher studies, on Kumthekar Road in Sadashiv Peth.
Special care has been taken to ensure the hostel, Chaitanya Vishwa, is accessible through ramps. Besides, attention has been paid while designing the washrooms so they are completely accessible, said Rahul Deshmukh, president of the National Association for the Welfare of Physically Challenged.
Preliminary discussions with Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) officials over how the public transport system will handle the requirements of the handicapped seems to have left members of the Disability Rights Alliance (DRA) — a group that seeks inclusive development — unhappy
he new disabilities bill could help enshrine a more modern understanding of the issue.
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