The ayes have it, the ayes have it, the ayes have it. This simple phrase, which ended the proceedings of the Lok Sabha on May 22 marked a momentous day for the estimated 40 million persons with print disabilities in India. At 2.34 pm, the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2012 was passed by the Lok Sabha — it had earlier been passed by the Rajya Sabha — thereby ensuring that people with print disabilities can exercise their right to knowledge on an equal footing with others.
About 2,000 people did step aerobics in front of Taipei City Hall yesterday to express support for visually impaired children in developing countries.
The participants wore blue and green T-shirts with a picture of an eye printed on them and made an 80m-long formation in the shape of Taiwan’s tallest building — Taipei 101 — in the plaza in front of Taipei City Hall.
After a countdown, the crowd busted out aerobic moves and started stepping on their step platforms to the music until they symbolically reached “1,001” steps.
They may not be toppers but they are surely achievers. Notwithstanding physical disabilities, several students fought against the odds and made their parents and schools proud.
Suffering from vision impairment, Rachit Malik of Amity International School in Noida secured 93.8% in the Class 12 science stream while Ambika Khattar from Delhi Public School (RK Puram) scored 83.8%.
On a day when Vishwanathan Anand won the world chess championship for the fifth time, as many as 106 visually impaired players competed against one another at the all-India chess tournament here at the Devnar School for the Blind on Wednesday.
Twenty of the players are currently ranked with the world chess federation body and Darshan Patel was the top seed at this tourney as he has 1838 points.
With age being no bar, children too got into the fray in right earnest and took on much older opponents.
In an impressive performance as well as a huge morale booster to the differently-abled persons to pursue academic excellence, a visually impaired student of Government Ideal Blind School, Takyel scored letter marks in Mathematics in the recently declared HSLC (Cl-X) examination.
The outstanding achievement of thokchom Anjalina Devi, who scored 80 marks in Mathematics at the HSLC examination conducted by the Board of Secondary Education Manipur, has undoubtedly proved that with proper guidance and hard work even the differently abled persons can compete with the able-bodied.
Under the new ruling, the differently-abled will have a three per cent reservation in select branches of the medical PG through the revised matrix at the time of the Post Graduate Entrance Test - due to be effective from this academic year.
Odisha Blind Foundation (OBF) released a book named ‘Alok Pathara Jatridala' on Friday to commemorate 44{+t}{+h}death anniversary of Louis Braille.
This book was released at a function organised on the premises of the only Braille press in Odisha, functioning in the city. It is the third book published by the OBF to make general public know about social activists of the world and our country who have played a major role to attach the visually impaired to the mainstream. The other two books published by the OBF in the past were related to lives of Louis Braille and Helen Keller.
Growing up in northern Iran, Fereshteh Khosroujerdy loved to sing. Everyone who heard her voice in the streets would hug and kiss her and tell her how beautiful it was. Everyone, that is, except her strict Muslim parents, who warned her that if they caught her singing in public – forbidden for women – they would douse her in petrol and set her alight. "It is very difficult to be born a girl," she said, "and it is disastrous to be born a girl and blind."
Perhaps, other state undertakings like TSTC, MTC and Railways can take a cue from Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) in considering the needs of the differently-abled while designing projects for public utility. The amenities proposed in ongoing metro project would definitely be a benchmark, if CMRL were to translate them into reality.
Among the long list of amenities proposed for metro stations are dedicated parking space (subject to space availability) and tactile tiles to access functional areas and platforms and non-slippery floors.
The last game of the Twenty20 series between the England and Australia Visually Impaired cricket teams was washed out at Feckenham CC, meaning a 2-0 England victory.
Following the same fate for the first match on Sunday, the hosts won both legs of a double-header yesterday at Leamington CC to take revenge for Australia’s 3-0 one-day whitewash.
Luke Sugg, England captain for the T20 rubber, said: "I'm delighted to win the T20 series. There have been some excellent contributions throughout both series.
Delhi University seems to be getting a better response from differently-abled aspirants this year. At least 71 students with special needs have already registered for admission in DU colleges over last two days. A DU official said they were excited about the increasing number of such applicants. They assured that all possible facilities were being provided to them.
Samarthanam is proud to announce a coffee table book, India Awakened: Agents of Changes on the nation’s unsung heroes that dedicates a section to the dynamic, inspiring founder of this organization for the disabled, Mr. G K Mahantesh.
The school education department has constituted a seven-member regulatory body to ensure that the provisions of the right to education (RTE) act are followed in all schools, including private ones.
The Right to Education Protection Authority, headed by retired high court judge Sadhan Gupta, would look into allegations such as schools taking donation during admission, holding admission tests instead of drawing lots and punishing students physically, said school education minister Bratya Basu after announcing the formation of the regulatory body.
Technology has transformed many aspects of modern life, including how many people communicate, learn, work, and play. From distance learning to telecommuting, technology affords people increased convenience and productivity. But for persons with disabilities, technology offers much more than that—it also allows for a greater degree of independence and new ways to communicate.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday inaugurated a private eye hospital in the city which is boasting of having a chain of facilities in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and one in Mauritius. Claimed to have been built at a whopping cost of Rs 10 crore, Dr Agarwal’s Eye Hospital assures to provide quality eye care by a team of dedicated doctors.
The hospital is believed to be well- equipped in performing certain ophthalmic surgeries. It has promised to provide free cataract surgeries on at least three days in a month.
Tarak Luhar, visually impaired since birth, was the first to withdraw money from the country’s first ‘Talking ATM’ installed by the Union Bank of India on Wednesday at the Blind People’s Association (BPA) premise in Vastrapur. The machine did the talking through the head phones and he would just run his fingers on the Braille keypad on the machine.
Bank chairman and managing director D Sarkar inaugurated the disabled-friendly machine with a view to assist the visually and physically challenged.
A day after a Right to Information query revealed that the Planning Commission had splurged over Rs. 30 lakh on renovating toilets at its headquarters in Delhi, the Commission disputed that it was wasteful expenditure. The Commission said the amount was spent on a set of six “toilet blocks” with multiple seats and facilities for the differently-abled. It also described the renovation as “routine maintenance,” required in an old building having an antiquated plumbing system
A few months ago, when Lok Sabha speaker Meira Kumar handed over a certificate of participation to a visually impaired student on a study visit to Parliament, she faced an innocent but important question: “But how will I read this certificate?”
Kumar, a former Union minister for social justice and empowerment, took note of the situation.
Stakeholders have opined that discriminatory attitude towards differently-abled people should be made positive as they also can perform equal to other persons if they were provided with opportunities and rights.
At a programme organised by Youth Support, speakers said that differently-abled persons' access to education and health should be increased.
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