Volume 3 Issue 14

Feature

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  A film festival with a difference
  “Be deaf when people tell you that you cannot fulfill your dreams.” What a different way to look at disability! This was one of the posters that were put up by the Ability Foundation to welcome people to AbilityFest 2005. Bharathy Venkateswaran, Vidya Sagar, Chennai, provides glimpses of the India International Disability Film Festival recently held in Chennai.
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  On the road to a dignified life
  “Restoring dignity, thereby promoting empowerment and self-respect, should be the underlying principle while working with individuals affected by leprosy,” says Tina Mendis, Rehabilitation Coordinator, The Leprosy Mission (T.L.M.) India.

Interview

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  A world without leprosy is our dream: Dr. Cornalius Walter
  “Of the 1.2 billion population, there will be 1,20,000 leprosy patients at any given time in India. Can you say that is not a public health problem any more? I, as a doctor, do not think so,” says Dr. Cornalius Walter, trained General Surgeon from Christian Medical College, Vellore, and Director for South Asia, Leprosy Mission International, sharing his views and experiences with Chitra S. Shankar

News

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  Disability activist Javed Abidi nominated to Central Advisory Board of Education (C.A.B.E.)
  In a major victory for the disability sector in India, leading activist and Executive Director, National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (N.C.P.E.D.P.), Javed Abidi has been nominated to the Central Advisory Board of Education (C.A.B.E.), the highest body to advise the Central and State Governments in the field of education.
• Ministry of Social Justice makes mockery of selection process of National Trust’s Chairperson
  In a major setback for the disability sector, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has unceremoniously cancelled interviews slated for 26th July for selection of the Chairperson for the National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities, to replace Aloka Guha, who has been continuing on the post despite her term getting over more than a year back.
• Disabled invitees stranded at Social Justice Ministry’s event
  Government officials entrusted with the duty of ensuring the rights of people with disabilities seem to lack even the basic sensitivity towards the need for access and equal participation. This came to the fore at a function organised by the office of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (C.C.P.D.) in the capital on 12 July 2005.
• Petroleum Minister summons GAIL CMD on illegal terminations of four disabled employees
  The protracted battle for seeking justice for the four sacked employees of Gas Authority of India Ltd. (G.A.I.L) has now reached a decisive phase with the Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar summoning the company's Chairman and Managing Director Proshanto Banerjee for a meeting, which will also be attended by the four disabled employees and Javed Abidi, Convenor of Disabled Rights Group (D.R.G.), on Monday, 18 July, 2005.
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  National Policy for Persons with Disabilities to be announced soon: Meira Kumar
  The Union Government is in the “process” of bringing out a National Policy for Persons with Disabilities, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Meira Kumar announced in the Capital on 12 July 2005.
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  Pioneering effort to reach disabled people in Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  Vidya Sagar, formerly Spastics Society of India, Chennai, organised a series of Workshops and Assessment Camps for Disabled People at Port Blair and Rangath in the Andaman Islands. A team of seven members from Vidya Sagar along with Sue Mackey, a representative from Handicap International, which funded the team, participated in the programme.
• N.C.P.E.D.P. calls for changes in Draft Delhi Master Plan to make Capital disabled friendly
  The Delhi Government has been touting its Draft Delhi Master Plan as the grand vision to transform the Capital into a “world class” city by 2021. However, going by the intensity of public and media criticism, the plan is far from perfect, least of all in terms of its attention to the needs of people with disabilities.
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  New strands of polio virus found in India and Indonesia
  Highlighting the need for continuing the worldwide campaign for polio eradication, reports of two new strands of polio virus surfacing in India and Indonesia have come in.
• Disability sector meeting in Mumbai focusses on failure to implement The Disability Act
  A special meeting of people in the disability sector of Mumbai was organised by Disabled Rights Group (D.R.G.), in Mumbai on 30 June 2005.
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  National Urban Transport Policy to come up for Cabinet discussion
  Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation will present an ambitious National Urban Transport Policy draft for discussion and approval before the Union Cabinet later this month.
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  EC fails to make Goa bye-poll disabled-friendly; Disability groups may file contempt
  The recent Goa Assembly bye-poll was unfriendly for people with disabilities with ramps and Braille facilities mostly missing at polling booths, despite a notice to local electoral authorities by the Chief Electoral Officer ahead of these elections.
• D.U. fails again; Number of disabled applicants much below total quota seats
  University of Delhi has once again failed in filling up even a fraction of 1,300 seats reserved for students with disabilities, as only 322 applicants have sought admission under this quota for this academic year.
• Huge costs for parents of disabled children: U.K. Study
  The costs of looking after a disabled child can leave parents in debt and living in poverty, says a recent Research Study based in the United Kingdom (U.K.).
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  South Zone Partners commit to strengthen National Disability Network
  National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (N.C.P.E.D.P.) in association with Vidya Sagar, Chennai, organised the South Zone Partners’ Meet in Chennai on 10 July, 2005. The Meet was attended by thirty National Disability Network (N.D.N.) State and District Partners from Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Pondicherry.