Volume 3 Issue 17

Feature

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  Investing in future leaders of India’s disability movement
  The Rajiv Gandhi Scholarship Scheme for Students with Disability, instituted by National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (N.C.P.E.D.P.), were awarded on 20 August by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, Parvinder Singh details how disabled Scholars are turning into successful professionals and votaries of disability rights through these Scholarships.

Interview

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  Plan for making Taj Mahal's inner dome accessible has been shelved: A.S.I. Chief
  Plan for introducing a specially designed hydraulic lift inside Taj Mahal to allow people with disabilities to visit the inner platform has been shelved as it may destroy the monuments’ sanctity says C. Babu Rajeev, Director General of Archaeological Survey of India (A.S.I.), in conversation with Parvinder Singh.

News

• Aloka Guha out of the race for the post of Chairperson, National Trust
  Aloka Guha is on her way out as the current Chairperson of National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities, after over a year’s uncertainty and controversy.
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  Delhi Chief Minister calls for launching freedom movement for barrier-free India
  Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has called for launching a new freedom struggle, similar to the one that saw India attain political independence, to make the nation barrier-free.
• Victim of systemic neglect, C.C.P.D. without a head for over a year now!
  As the disability sector battles for the implementation of the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, even almost a decade after its enactment, the apex institution for the protection and furthering of the rights of disabled people remains without a head.
• Hundreds of people with visual impairment court arrest in Delhi over their demands
  Over 400 people with visual impairment courted arrest on the Parliament Street while demonstrating in support of a charter of demand and for insisting on meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to raise their issues.
• Rajiv Gandhi Scholarship offers vital data to map educational status of disabled people
  The Rajiv Gandhi Scholarship Scheme for Students with Disability, instituted by National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (N.C.P.E.D.P.) has become an important source of data for creating a nation-wide profile of needs of people with disabilities, particularly in the context of higher professional education.
• People with visual impairment cannot be barred from appearing for Bank P.O. Exam: S.C.
  In a legal battle that went on for four long years, the Supreme Court has upheld the right of a visually impaired candidate to appear for the Bank Probationary Officers Examination under the quota for the general candidates, saying that visual impairment cannot be a ground for rejecting a candidature.
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  Another polio case reported from Uttar Pradesh, W.H.O. questions efficacy of immunisation drives
  Yet another case of a child developing polio despite undergoing immunisation has been reported from Uttar Pradesh, the State that has the dubious distinction of having largest number of polio cases in the country.
• Disabled people in Uttar Pradesh can now avail loans up to 20 lakh
  After over nine years of tussle between National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (N.H.F.D.C.), run by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment-run, and successive Uttar Pradesh Governments, the two seem to have reached an agreement and plan to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (M.o.U.) by the end of this month.
• Orissa college agrees to extend age bar and 3% reservation for disabled students
  In a victory for the disability sector, B.K. College of Art and Crafts, Bhubaneswar, will extend age relaxation up to by five years and a three per cent reservation to student with disabilities from this academic session, following a pitched campaign by Swabhiman – an National Disability Network Partner in Orissa.
• Five Andhra disability NGO’s implicated for abuse of funds
  Five Non Governmental Organisations (N.G.O.) in Andhra Pradesh, which run special schools for disabled children, have been implicated for blatant misuse of funds by an inquiry by the State’s vigilance wing.
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  Haryana earmarks Rs. 57 lakh to build ramps in 950 schools, plans resource centres at block-level
  The Haryana Government has announced a plan to provide ramps in schools and separate resource rooms at the headquarters of each block for disabled school children, according to State’s Education Minister Phool Chand Mullana.
• Disability Law Unit’s team discovers shocking violation of disability rights in Kerala
  Disability Law Unit, South, Vidya Sagar, recently conducted a legal awareness campaign in Kerala and came across the dismal state of awareness about The Disability Act, 1995, and blatant violation of its provisions.
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  Freedom on wheels! Rajiv Gandhi Foundation distributes three-wheelers to disabled people
  On the 61st birth anniversary of late Rajiv Gandhi, the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation (R.G.F) distributed 50 motorized three-wheelers to orthopaedically disabled people. These specially designed and engineered three-wheelers turned out be a major draw not only for the recipients but also for other invitees who were taken in the sheer looks of the vehicle.
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  Aishwarya to campaign for polio eradication programme in Pakistan
  Lending star power to polio eradication programme in neighbouring Pakistan, former Miss World Aishwarya Rai will campaign there in September under an agreement between Islamabad and New Delhi to swap polio ambassadors of the two countries.