General

Reserve Bank of India to release accessible currency notes

Rupees 100 and 50 currency notes in the new 2005 series banknotes, will be printed in intaglio (in raised prints), which will enable visually impaired persons to identify them easily, announced the, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), recently.

"The portrait of Mahatma Gandhi, the Reserve Bank seal, guarantee and promise clause, Ashoka Pillar emblem on the left, RBI Governor's signature and identification mark for the visually impaired, printed in intaglio will be made more prominent by raising the depth," as per a statement by RBI.

Assistive devices being distributed to persons with low-vision

The Vision Aid Charitable Services Society has procured low vision devices like spectacle magnifiers in four sizes, stand magnifiers and illuminated hand held magnifiers, from the National Institute for the Visually Handicapped.

These devices will be given free of cost to people affected with low vision, whose monthly income is less than Rupees 5,000. Those in need of these devices can visit the organisation at Maharanipeta, Vishakapatnam or call + 98482 27337 for details.

Braille boards, bulletins, timetables and menu-cards in Bhopal

Blind visitors at Van Vihar National Park are discovering the wildlife treasures through Braille scripted information put up at various points at the park. In a first of it kind endeavour, volunteers of Arushi, an N.G.O. in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, created about two dozen aluminium Braille sheets that give information about the animals of the park.

Plans to make Lucknow city disabled-friendly

In a novel gesture, the Uttar Pradesh government has initiated a long-term strategy to develop all urban pockets in a disabled-friendly manner. To start with, the new civil structures comprising easy slopes with handrails and ramps have been erected at the Charbagh Railway Station and in the posh Hazratganj market. Auditory signals along with traffic lights will soon be in place at the main crossings in Lucknow, to facilitate movements for the visually impaired people.

Touch-screen voting machines to make voting easy and private

Visually impaired voters of Citrus County, Florida, will be able to vote in private and without assistance. The AccuVote-TSX touch screen voting machines feature a standard telephone keypad with a raised indicator on the No. 5 key. A headset and detailed audio instructions make voting private.

A poll worker will be assigned to each machine to help the voters, if needed. The machines will be available at each polling location.

Blindness control grants decentralised

The Central Government has announced decentralisation of grants being given to N.G.O.s for blindness control programmes. On the occasion of, World Sight Day the Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss announced that “the power to provide grants to N.G.O.s working in the field of ophthalmology has been passed on to the states under the National Programme for Control of Blindness”.

Sight Savers launches massive campaign to save Bangladeshi children from cataract

In a campaign launched to mark World Sight Day, Sight Savers International, a U.K.-based charity, aims to track down and save Bangladeshi children in need of cataract surgery.

Since last year, Sight Savers' activities have saved 2,500 children from blindness. The procedure includes two surgeries: one to remove the cataract and a second to implant an intra ocular lens (I.O.L).

Determined visually impaired artist makes idols of Goddess Durga

Keshav Chandra Pal, a 57-year-old sculptor of repute from Jamshedpur, refused to give up his family tradition of making idols despite losing his eyesight. He learnt the art of idol-making from his father and, except for a break of two years, has been working independently since the death of his father ten years ago.

“In 1996, I lost my eyesight and stopped working. After two years, my brother asked me to give it a try and I agreed. With full faith in God, I started work and now, even though I cannot see, I can make idols,” said Pal.

Legally blind chefs display culinary skills

Legally blind chef Ken Lexer of Boynton Beach, Florida, U.S.A, displayed his culinary skills in the television show ‘Cooking Without Looking’. The cookery show, which is aimed at blind and visually impaired people, gives cooking tips and kitchen safety measures.

Chandrasekhar Sankurathri aims to erase blindness in Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh

Chandrasekhar Sankurathri is working to erase blindness among the poor and rural communities of Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh. "Many are unnecessarily blind,” he said.

A biologist turned philanthropist, Sankurathri, 61, strongly believes that most cases of blindness can be cured with proper treatment. He relocated from Ottawa in Canada to Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh in 1989, after he lost his wife, daughter and son in the Air India bomb attack 20 years ago. Since then, he has dedicated his life to social activism through his community outreach programmes.