Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi honours visually challenged

Dehradun, Dec 3: Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi today said being born with a handicap is not a disadvantage if one channelises one's energies in the right direction with a little help from the government and the society at large.

Honouring five visually challenged persons at the National Institute for Visually Handicapped here on the occasion of International Day for the Disabled, Qureshi said there was no lack of talent, dedication and energy in the visually handicapped and with more government efforts and cooperation from society, they could easily establish their excellence in their respective fields. [In Pics: 10 extraordinary personalities with disabilities]

Describing disability as an injustice done by the almighty to humans, he said those honoured today had proved how by the sheer power of the will they had turned their physical disadvantage into an advantage.

Those honoured on the occasion included Dr (Smt) Prem Singh, who has been the first visually handicapped professor at Delhi university; Lakshmi Subramani, who worked with Deccan Herald as a news editor and is known for her articles on sports; Monica Sharma, who works in IBM and has made a place for herself in the fields of music, acting and mimicry; Avnish Singh,who has developed softwares for reading for the visually impaired; and Baldev Gulati, who is now a successful businessman after working in many institutions.

PTI