With a view to giving convenience to physically challenged people, the Railways have decided to provide special facilities in over 1,500 stations in the country.
Special facilities like access ramps, reserved parking slots, low height water taps and suitable toilets for differently-abled people will be developed in phases at important railway stations, a senior Railway Ministry official said.
He cannot see but was determined to open the eyes of administration. More than his poverty, 26-year-old Ratna Al, it was authorities turning blind eye to development works in his village that pained him.
A native of Rangpar, a dusty hamlet of 750 people in Wankaner taluka, Ratna used Right to Information (RTI). Ratna has put the village on development track. A neat two-km road has replaced the stony path connecting it to highway. The thorny gando bawal shrubs that dotted the roadside are now being cleared regularly and Rangpar is getting the facelift.
Life for the differently-abled at North Campus changed for better on Monday.
And it happened with Delhi University (DU) launching a special free-of-cost bus service meant exclusively for the physically challenged.
Acquired at a cost of Rs 16 lakh, the bus boasts of special features that have been included in the design to suit needs of its passengers.
The service is free of cost.
For starters, the rear entrance door of the bus is enabled with a hydraulic lift mechanism to help wheelchair users board the vehicle.
President Pratibha Patil had once blindfolded herself to experience the life of a visually impaired person but says she could not bear it even for an hour.
"Whenever I interacted with blind people, I thought how they lived their life? I even blindfolded myself to know what will be my life without light. But I could not remain like that even for an hour," she recalled today while receiving the first copy of a book on the struggle of a blind girl Siddhi.
Blind baking is something Stanmore Bay’s Michael Erasmus, 22, does daily.
Michael is fully blind in one eye, and has 5 percent vision in the other.
But that hasn’t stopped him graduating from the North Shore International Academy, or opening his own gourmet pie shop in Whangaparaoa.
In April Michael was the first blind person to graduate with a Culinary Arts and Professional Cookery National Certificate from the North Shore academy.
His dream didn’t stop there.
Extending a helping hand to disabled and elderly passengers, Railways have decided to operate battery-operated cars for them at major stations.
The small cars will operate round-the-clock to facilitate the needy passengers, a senior Railway Ministry official said.
The service will be free.
The vehicles will be run by private operators who will be selected by the zonal railways under certain terms and conditions. Zonal railways have been asked to work out details with the private operators for signing an agreement for a period of one year.
Dibyendu (Debu) Adhikari is excited about his holidays. He would return home from his hostel (Kolkata Blind School) after three months for his Puja vacation. Puja for this 10-year-old is synonymous with good food, a couple of new clothes, dhaks (traditional drums, used especially during auspicious occasions in Bengal), bells and conch sounds. For him, his elder brother is indispensable during these five days of festivity. “Mejda (his elder brother) takes me around each pandal and describes every detail — the lighting, décor, goddess etc,” he said.
Five disabled persons of the city selected by the state government for their outstanding contribution in various fields would be awarded a special prize by the state governor on World Handicapped Day on December 2.
Informing this, district handicapped officer, KK Mishra said that Arun Kumar presently working in the office of general manager, Telecom is heading the list. This deaf and dumb person has won many awards in state level handicapped volleyball championship.
In a few days from now, even the visually challenged would be able to saunter into the District Central Library, Karur, and savour books designed for them and stored there through the medium of computers. In a pioneering move, the library here is all set to welcome the visually challenged visitors by becoming a blind-friendly library. The proposal that had been under consideration for sometime got a boost with Collector J. Uma Maheswari deciding to grant some funds.
The winners of the much coveted N.C.P.E.D.P. Shell Helen Keller Awards for 2009 have been announced. This is the 11th edition of these awards instituted by National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (N.C.P.E.D.P.), to honour individuals and organisations who have been working towards promoting equal opportunities and providing gainful employment for persons with disabilities. The Awards will be given on December 2 in New Delhi.
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