Handicapped people protest against no outlay in budget for their welfare

New Delhi, July 25 (ANI): Hundreds of handicapped people staged a demonstration at the residence of Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Friday against lack of outlay in the budget for their welfare.

The protest was organized by a New Delhi-based NGO, the Disabled Rights Group.

Javed Abidi, convener, Disabled Rights Group, said the General Budget 2009, unveiled earlier this month, was a big letdown for the differently-abled people.

"We were fully confident that in this budget there would be something for the handicapped people. If you look at the 11th plan (five year plan), a number of promises were made for the handicapped people, a universal design institute, a sign language interpretation institute and scholarships. But when the budget was presented, not even a single word was included for the welfare of the handicapped people," said Abidi.

Disabled population varies from a low of two per cent given officially to as high as eight per cent estimated by some NGOs, the wide variance attributed to the level of disability. ANI)