First sitting of mobile court for disabled held

Tiruchirapalli, Jan 7 (UNI) The first sitting of the mobile court to hear complaints from persons with disabilities got 465 complaints and reddressed 450, Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Subbulakshmi Jagadeesan said.

Minister was here in connection with the winding up of the four-day national exhibition on assistive devices for persons with disabilities (SAMARTHYA-2008).

The sitting was chaired by Chief Commissioner of Disabilities of the Union Government Manoj Kumar and State Commissioner for the Disabled V K Jeyakodi on January 4 and 5.

The mobile court would have a sitting at Chennai today. It would also be held in Delhi and other metropolitan cities.

To a question, Ms Jagadeesan said as many as 2,800 of the 3,000 visitors were benefited from the exhibition. Assistive devices including tricycles and Braille watches, worth Rs 70 lakh, were distributed in the last two days.

About 1,800 disabled were assessed and they would receive the devices through district collectors shortly, she added.

The Union Ministry, in coordination with State Governments and non-governmental organisations, had embarked on a pilot project in Tamil Nadu under the Assistive Devices in Persons with Disabilities (ADIP) Scheme for distributing aids and appliances for the physically challenged.

On early intervention programmes, she said the government was training Anganwadi workers in sensitising pregnant mothers to the effects of malnutrition and identifying physical aberrations among children.

The Department was conducting awareness programmes for workers at the primary health centres and identifying disabilities through multimedia camps conducted by state governments. According to the 2002 Census, 1.8 per cent of the total population was identified as disabled.

The Ministry had submitted a Rs 16,000 crore proposal to the Union Planning Commission for implementing welfare measures during the XI Five Year Plan period.

Ms Neeradha Chandramohan, Director of National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities Chennai, hosting the exhibition, said other types of complaints, including those on pension schemes, employment and education were also heard and redressed.

''The two-day sitting had medical officers and government officials to redress all sorts of complaints and solutions were drafted right away,'' she added.

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