11th Meeting of Disability Commissioners: 2012

11th National Meeting of the State Commissioners, Disabilities to Review Implementation of the Persons with Disablities Act, 1995 held

Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Shri.Mukul Wasnik has urged States to appoint fulltime Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities and provide adequate staff and create necessary infrastructure for welfare and development of the disabled persons.

Addressing the 11th National Meeting of State Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities here today, Shri Wasnik said that the status of implementation of the existing Persons with Disabilities Act across the country is skewed and uneven. This is attributable to a variety of reasons including absence of full time Commissioners disabilities with independent charge at a state level. He said that his Ministry would extend all possible support in creating barrier free environment in States and UTs.

Speaking on the occasion, the Minister said that the Ministry is working on a new legislation for the empowerment of persons with disabilities in line with the UN Convention. He said that a Committee has been already constituted comprising of stakeholders, experts, some State Governments and Union Ministries, etc. to draft a new legislation to replace the present Act. The Committee submitted its Report; including a draft Bill called The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill. We are examining the Bill in consultation with 17 concerned Central Ministries and Departments. The Bill has also been discussed in a meeting of the Central Coordination Committee, a statutory forum set up under the existing Persons with Disabilities Act, on 12th November last.

Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Shri D. Napolean said that State Commissioners for Disabilities should play proactive role in ensuring that all children with disabilities are covered under Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. During the meeting he suggested to establish Disability University, special recruitment wing for differently abled persons, disability rehabilitation department, fully equipped early intervention center in every district and time slot on all national media for broadcasting programmes related to disability.

Earlier making a presentation Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities Shri P.K Pincha said that all States have constituted the State Coordination Committees and State Executive Committees under the Persons with Disability Act, 1995 which provides for education, employment, creation of barrier-free environment, social security etc. However, regular meetings of these committees are not held. 14 States such as Assam, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal have appointed full time Commissioners. A total 35 States have constituted Medical Boards in each district to facilitate issue of disability certificates. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has identified more than 2366 jobs(Group A-785,Group B-254,Group C-1112 and Group D-251) including IAS and other Central Services for the disabled. 24 States /UTs have amended building by laws or issued instruction for creating a barrier free environment.

Secretary to Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment Shri K.M Acharya was also present during the meeting. State Commissioners for Disabilities from 26 States and UTs are participating in the 2-day meeting to review the implementation of PWD Act. Representatives from Central apex organisations including Rehabilitation Council of India, National Trust, National Handicapped Finance Development Corporation and National Institutes for different disabilities are participating in the meeting organised by the Chief Commissioners of Disabilities.

Chennai District Collector inaugurates free transport from bus stop to collectorate

Battery-operated car for differently abled, elderly

M.K. ANANTH

  

The car was a long-pending demand.–Photo: M.K. Ananth

A battery car to transport free of cost differently abled and elderly petitioners from the bus stop to the district collectorate was inaugurated by District Collector J. Kumaragurubaran on Monday. Mr. Kumaragurubaran told The Hindu  that it was bought under the District Innovation Fund (DIF) under the 13th Finance Commission.

The Collector said on an average close to 500 petitions were submitted at the collectorate during the weekly grievances meet on Monday. Of these, about 200 to 250 of them (40 per cent to 50 per cent) were submitted by differently abled and very old persons. “A car for the petitioners was a long pending demand of various associations for the differently abled,” he said.

Mr. Kumaragurubaran said a proposal to buy the car, worth Rs. 4 lakh, was sent to the State Government about three months ago. According to him the DIF gets 90 per cent (Rs. 3.6 lakh) of the cost from the State Government while 10 per cent (Rs. 40,000) is contributed by the public.

“The car is the first project sanctioned for Namakkal under DIF – of the total Rs.1 crore earmarked for this district,” the Collector said. The decision to buy a battery car was taken as it has lesser ground clearance – less than half a foot – that is much less than the clearance of many petrol and diesel vehicles in this price range.

“Initially, the vehicle will function from 9 a.m. till the end of the meeting on all Mondays,” he said and added that the free service would also be made available on other days based on demand. Differently abled persons said the vehicle had brought down the time taken for them to reach the petition counter by 10 minutes.

“The weekly grievance meeting is now conducted in the conference hall on the first floor of the collectorate. A meeting hall will soon be constructed at Rs. 17 lakh on the ground floor.

First Blind Judge in Korea shows how blind persons can function as Judge successfully

Dear Colleagues,

A very good news coming in from Korea. We have a Blind Judge Mr. Choi Young, who held the court first time with his screen reading software on the lap top. And the attendees in the court were spell bound! 

I have been working hard to see our blind brethren in the judiciary in Delhi. However, despite five posts specially reserved for the Blind in the judicial examinations held in past few years, we have seen no success.  I am requesting the Delhi High Court to organize special coaching to blind law graduates and practicing blind lawyers this year so that we can put up an example to the country. Its not that we have no blind judges in the country, but we have none in Delhi so far.

Please refer to my earlier posts "Can a blind person work as a judge?" and subsequently  "Want to become a judge?" and "A step further to ensure that Blind can function effectively in Courts" on this subject. 

Here is the wonderful news from Korea. 

SEOUL: Judge Choi Young focused on the sounds from his laptop computer at the court as he strives to grasp the case he undertook.

A text-to-speech software in the computer helped blind judge with the trial. While attendees were nervous and astonished to see how dexterously he dealt with the case, he remained calm and confident.

Korean blind judge, Choi Young, adjusts an earpiece 

as he presides over his first public ruling for a civil 

case at the Seoul Northern District Court 

in Dobong District 

(Photo credit: Korea Joongang Daily)

Choi, the Korea’s first blind judge, had his first open trial on Friday. 

Choi is one of the 86 new judges appointed in February and works as an associate judge at the Seoul Northern District Court.

The 32-year-old judge had five trials on Friday. He entered the court room at 10:00 a.m., supported by his fellow judge. He found his seat with the help of other staff. Unlike other judges, there was a laptop computer at his seat.

The court said it had installed a text-to-speech software and provided the necessary equipment, including the laptop, to assist  judge.   “He translates all the documents into audio files and put it in a USB flash drive before trials,” an official from the court said.

During the open trial on Friday, Choi seemed calm and looked no different from other judges besides he had an in-ear earphone. He also typed something on his laptop from time to time.

Observers were impressed how he could look for all the necessary files and document during the trial.

“Choi can memorize all the documents by listening to the audio files just one or two times,” a spokesman of the Seoul Northern District Court said.

Choi noted Friday that he hopes he can bring a new change in Korean society. “There was a big change after the country appointed its first woman judge. I hope I can make the same effect as the country’s first blind judge,” he said.

The 32-year-old was not born vision disability, but started to lose his vision from 1998 due to illness. He lost his vision completely in 2005 while at Seoul National University. He needed extra effort to prepare for the judicial examination due to his disability.

Despite his five consecutive failures, Choi did not give up and passed the judicial examination in 2008.

He completed a two-year program at the Judicial Research and Training Institute in earlier this year to become the country’s first ever blind judge.

Source: Asia online 

Boy with epilepsy shuttled between two welfare homes in four months

Dear Colleagues,

All of 12 years, and found abandoned at New Delhi railway station, his medical report shows he was diagnosed with epilepsy. In four months, he has been made to scuttle between two childrens’ homes, spanning the jurisdiction areas of three Child Welfare Committees (CWC), only to be returned to the first — as authorities at the two other institutions called him a “disturbance” to other inmates.

The CWC (Mayur Vihar), on December 29, 2012, had sent him to Don Bosco home in Okhla as authorities found the children’s home in their area “not equipped to handle his medical needs”.

In March, authorities at Don Bosco home, under CWC (Lajpat Nagar), said that “being a short-stay institution housing 20 children, we are not able to adequately manage the child and it becomes a disturbance for the other children.”

The boy also sustained a head injury after he accidentally fell down during an episode of fits while he was there. The authorities of the home suggested that the child be sent to another one — Antodaya Niketan in Kashmere Gate, “for its proximity to St Stephen’s Hospital and their better resources, which will help them manage the child properly.”

So, on March 25, CWC (Lajpat Nagar), ordered he be moved to Antodaya Niketan.

But within three days of being transferred here, in an official letter dated March 28, Antodaya Niketan authorities said, “The child is continuously afflicted with epilepsy and needs special attention. Moreover, it is a disturbance to other children at our home.”

They requested CWC to “transfer the child to other homes specialised in handling such cases.”

CWC (Kingsway Camp) directed the child be transferred back to Don Bosco last week.

According to Father George Nadackal, director of the Don Bosco Home, “This child needs a lot of special attention. We have to devote an attendant permanently for him. Also, his medical expenses amount to a lot — MRIs, CT scans, etc. We do not have the resources to take care of his needs. Now that he is back with us, we will try to find a solution.”

Tej Wilson, social worker at Antodaya Niketan, said, “We could only keep this child for a few days, because he had a lot of special needs and other children were getting disturbed. Since he was being well taken care of in Don Bosco, we requested our CWC to transfer him.”

With no designated home for long-term care of children diagnosed with neurological disorders, CWCs say they are in a constant dilemma over finding a place of care for such children. “Authorities at most homes say they do not have the facilities to take care of these children,” Raaj Mangal Prasad, chairperson, CWC (Lajpat Nagar) told Newsline.

However, department of Women and Child Development (WCD) officials dismissed these arguments as “excuses to turn away children”. “All normal homes are supposed to take care of the special needs of children. Isolating those with neurological disorders is not correct,” WCD Director, Rajiv Kale said.

The unwritten rule in Delhi institutions, is to direct children to Nirmal Chhaya home where an NGO, Manas Foundation, provides mental health counselling service. “We have over 120 psychiatry patients — 10 of them diagnosed with epilepsy. Since we provide a facility, all CWCs have started referring such children to us,” said Monika Kumar, Managing Trustee of Manas Foundation.

Nirmal Chaya chairperson Neera Mullick said, “We take care of all children diagnosed with epilepsy. It may be traumatic for other children to see them in a state of fits, but isolation is not the solution.”

The boy will be produced before the CWC ( Lajpat Nagar) on Monday where a final decision on his stay will be taken.

Source: http://www.indianexpress.com/news/boy-with-epilepsy-shuttled-between-two-welfare-homes-in-four-months/943272/0

MCD will create 1790 posts of Special Educator under Right to Education Act

PTI, Mar 19, 2011, 

NEW DELHI: In keeping with the provisions of the Right to Education Act, the MCD has decided to create 1,790 posts of special teachers for children with disabilities in schools run and aided by the civic agency.

A meeting of the MCD Standing Committee approved a proposal in this regard this week.

The creation of the posts is also in consonance with a Delhi high court order of 2008 that said at least two such teachers should be provided in each school along with necessary teaching aids and reading material.

Officials said the Education Department has, however, proposed to create one post of "special educator" in each primary school. It is in process to place a request to the High Court for consideration, they said.

"The proposal for creation of 1,790 posts of special educators -- one each for schools run and aided by the MCD -- was prepared in compliance with the direction of the court and the provisions of RTE," an official said.

The total financial implication of the project will be Rs 53.70 crore per annum and it is expected to be met put of Plan funds to be provided by Delhi government. "There is a provision of financing such expenditure under RTE. According to it, 65 per cent of the expenditure will be borne by the Union government and the remaining by the state," he said.

The Right to Education Act provides that a child suffering from disability shall have the right to pursue free and compulsory elementary education.

http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-03-19/delhi/29145895_1_posts-mcd-civic-agency

The World "Handicapped" is banned in Haryana

Dear Colleagues,

In the recent past Govt. of Haryana  initiated a network of social infrastructure in every district that includes old age homes, special accessible school infrastructure for four major disabilities to include persons with disabilities in the mainstream. Several quarters who advocated inclusion in all spheres of life including education etc were quite critical of this step while the State Government's decision was more in line with providing better infrastructure in specialized and state of the art institutions which could become pivotal institutions to empower the disabled people to inclusion. In addition to this, other educational institutions are also being made inclusive.

Now in yet another positive step towards a rights based and inclusive society where marginalized segments are accorded full respect and dignity, it has come out with an official announcement banning the usage of the word "Handicapped" in the State since it violated and undermined the dignity of persons with disabilities. Not only  that, it went on to even discourage the world "differently abled" since this focuses on differential dimension hence not inclusive. This is a very positive step and the officials responsible for this remarkable step must be congratulated. 

The larger issue is now to implement this and I am sure State had already done its bit to a good extent by highlighting this in the media and through various means so that the state machinery at all levels understand the "persons first approach" or People-First Language.

As per Wiktionary the word  "Handicap" means-  An allowance of a certain amount of time or distance in starting, granted in a race (or other contest of skill) to the competitor possessing disadvantages; or an additional weight or other hindrance imposed upon the one possessing advantages, in order to equalize, as much as possible, the chances of success.  Eg. 

• The older boy won, even though his opponent had been granted a handicap of five meters.
• A handicap in chess often involves removal of the queen's rook.

It also means a race, for horses or men, or any contest of agility, strength, or skill, in which there is an allowance of time, distance, weight, or other advantage, to equalize the chances of the competitors.

Thus,  person may have a disability  and not handicaps and it is derogatory to refer to an individual with the a noun "handicapped".  This announcement is in line with Article 8 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which is reproduced below:

Article 8 - Awareness-raising

1. States Parties undertake to adopt immediate, effective and appropriate measures:

1. To raise awareness throughout society, including at the family level, regarding persons with disabilities, and to foster respect for the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities;
2. To combat stereotypes, prejudices and harmful practices relating to persons with disabilities, including those based on sex and age, in all areas of life;
3. To promote awareness of the capabilities and contributions of persons with disabilities.

Measures to this end include:

1. Initiating and maintaining effective public awareness campaigns designed:
   1. To nurture receptiveness to the rights of persons with disabilities;
   2. To promote positive perceptions and greater social awareness towards persons with disabilities;
   3. To promote recognition of the skills, merits and abilities of persons with disabilities, and of their contributions to the workplace and the labour market;
2. Fostering at all levels of the education system, including in all children from an early age, an attitude of respect for the rights of persons with disabilities;
3. Encouraging all organs of the media to portray persons with disabilities in a manner consistent with the purpose of the present Convention;
4. Promoting awareness-training programmes regarding persons with disabilities and the rights of persons with disabilities.

Here is the news coverage of the announcement in Indian Express:

Haryana bans use of word 'handicapped'

Wednesday, April 18, 2012, 

Chandigarh: Haryana government has banned the use of expression 'handicapped' saying it violates and undermines the dignity of persons with disability. 

An official spokesman said the expression 'handicapped' was against the spirit of the Constitution, the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, and, the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities to which India was also a state party. 

He said the use of such other expressions as 'differently abled' would also be discouraged as such an expression harps more on the differentiality dimension whereas there was a need to promote equality dimension. 

Wherever such description was both necessary and relevant, such persons would be described as persons with disability or as persons with blindness, persons with speech and hearing impairment or persons with locomotor disability. 

He said national institutes like National Institute for the Visually Handicapped and National Institute for Hearing Handicapped should also be renamed appropriately. 

PTI 

No private school is outside the ambit of Right to Education Act

Dear colleagues,

The Supreme Court on 12th April 2012 (Thursday) upheld the constitutional validity of the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, which mandates 25 per cent free seats to the poor in government and private unaided schools uniformly across the country.

By a majority view, a three-judge bench of Chief Justice S H Kapadia and justices K S Radhakrishnan and Swantanter Kumar said the Act will apply uniformly to government and unaided private schools except unaided private minority schools. 

While upholding the Constitutional validity of RTE Act, Honorable Supreme Court of India has ruled that no educational institution - including the private schools (except the minority schools) are beyond the provisions of Right to Education Act. This particularly aids the marginalized segments including the disabled children to seek admission in the nearest school of their choice. The judgement will apply henceforth and not with retrospect.

40 percent teacher vacancies are still unfilled

However, I do not feel that this alone can ensure quality education to all children in India. Has the Government of India and those of various states given any thought to fill over 40 percent vacancies of teachers lying vacant. In Uttar Pradesh alone, the state government has  advertised vacancies of 72800 alone for primary level in 2011 which have not been filled up till date due to vested interest. Thousands of primary schools in UP are running on one Teacher and one Shikshamitra only whereas there is a requirement of minimum 5 teachers to man the school. Consider the quality of education when the sole trained teacher goes on leave!

Similarly, in Karnataka, about 30 per cent of the 76 lakh primary school children  go to unaided private schools, mostly in urban areas, according to District Information System for Education (DISE) data. A 25 per cent reservation in Class I for the disadvantaged/economically weaker sections in these schools would impact about 1 per cent of the school-going child population. 

Accordingly to recent government studies,  at primarily level alone,  in addition to the 5.23 lakh vacancies, another 5.1 lakh teachers are needed to meet the pupil-teacher ratio specified under the Right to Education Act. Of the teachers already on the job, 7.74 lakh are largely untrained or without the needed qualifications.

At secondary level, the Rashtriya Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan requires that 1.79 lakh new teachers be appointed with special focus on teachers for English, mathematics and science.

The court order is welcome and the spirit behind the reservation of seats in private schools is  laudable, however the priority and focus of India’s education system should be on what needs to be done to improve the quality of education in government schools, where 80% of our children are enrolled. The huge challenge that the state faces in addressing the deficiencies of the education system can be explained through the existing teacher-pupil ratio in rural India. 

Quality of Education in Govt School is driving parents to Private Schools

Similar is the situation across the nation. Can the Government ensure quality of education with such ill trained manpower. Isn't this a purposeful ploy to degrade the state education to such low level that the gullible parents and children are forced to opt for private schools? 

In a recent visit to a remote small village in UP, I learnt that a private school has come up in the recent past in that small village in past few years. Though the children of the village have their names on the rolls of the State run government school while most of them went to the private school for education. Few children  who continue to go the state run school were the ones whose parents were so poor that they could not afford the school fee. I was surprised to see that even those who went to private school were not very good financially. One could imagine at what cost the parents were sending their children to private school in the hope of a good future of the child.  I had an opportunity to visit both schools and I saw the difference. The only teacher available in the Government school told me that they could either complete official paper work and mid day meal or control (not teach!) the children from different classes under one roof. The teacher shared that it was just not possible for a single teacher to manage 5 primary classes, paper work of the school, maintenance of registers, preparing mid day meal and also attend to miscellaneous duties of election etc for which they get deployed by the state government.  

Need of focusing on improving quality of Govt Schools

The RTE Act is a historic piece of legislation because it gives a legal right to free education to children between the ages of six and 14 and makes the government responsible for providing it. And the RTE implementation must focus on improving standards in government schools. Need is to correct the skewed  teacher-pupil ratio and whole education infrastructure to generate the confidence in people. The states have to come forward with a political will to ensure that the rights of compulsory and free education becomes a reality and poor are not forced to send their children to private schools at the cost of essential requirements of life such as food, health, house and clothing.

Mechanisms & political will to regulate private schools

Another issue is how to implement the RTE in private schools. The state is not able to provide this right in their own school then how will they implement this in the private school is a huge question that is haunting the concerned citizens. The capitation fee/ donation is though banned under this Act, however, there are several ways the private schools can bypass this.  Hence, unless mechanisms are proposed and strictly implemented, I don't see the benefits of such a wonderful legislation would be reaped by the "aam admi" of this nation.

Inclusive parks/playgrounds of Kilikili get UNESCO pat

Dear colleagues, 

The efforts of Bangalore based Kilikili - an organisation initiated by Ms. Kavita Krishnamoorthy, a special educator and architect, have found pat from none other than UNESCO. Here is the news report from DNA.

UNESCO pat for disabled-friendly parks in Bangalore

Published: Friday, Mar 2, 2012, 11:54 IST 

By Subir Ghosh | Place: Bangalore | Agency: DNA

When a group of parents with differently abled children came together in 2005 to lobby for parks and playgrounds in the city be made accessible to such children, they faced an uphill task.

They were not sure if the move would work. But some six years later, the initiative is being lauded by UNESCO as a success story, that can be emulated the world over.

The initiative in question is Kilikili, a Bangalore-based trust that was set up to create inclusive neighbourhood play spaces for all children, regardless of their abilities, and to involve children in the design process. The Kilikili case study finds place in UNESCO’s ‘The State of the World’s Children 2012’ report that was published on Wednesday. This year’s annual report focuses on making cities fit for children.

Former Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) commissioner K Jairaj bought the idea that came in the form of a visually attractive proposal from Kavita Krishnamoorthy, the managing trustee of Kilikili. The pitch was drafted by a core group comprising Krishnamoorthy, an architect and a special educator, that was formed after an initial round of consultations with parents, schools, and of course the children.

The first project, that sought to make parks and playgrounds disabled-friendly, was set up in Coles Park. The success of the project prompted the BMPP and Kilikili to replicate the idea at 

MN Krishna Rao Park in Basavangudi and Gayatri Devi Park in Rajajinagar.

Krishamoorthy remains unassuming about the Unesco mention, and talks of the tasks ahead. Her organisation, which runs with only two part-time employees, has pitched ideas for similar projects in Jayanagar, Jeevan Bima Nagar and Whitefield. “We are pursuing the BBMP to implement the projects, but these things eventually take up a lot of time to bear fruit.”

The BBMP bears all the costs to make the parks friendly for children with special needs. Kilikili, for its part, networks with parents, schools and volunteers, and works towards developing a community around a project area.

Once the BBMP’s part is done, it is this community that takes over. “Parents of children with special needs usually don’t want to come alone,” says Krishnamoorthy. But the support that the Kilikili initiative elicited, particularly from the residents of these areas, has possibly kept her going. Kilikili is hardly an organisation — it is a network.

What bothered Krishnamoorthy initially was about the invisibility of children with disabilities from the mainstream. Her project, therefore, works on inclusion. Besides the weekly trips to parks that are organised by the schools, Kilikili holds events in these parks every three months, where all children participate. ‘Normal’ children get the chance to interact and play with those with special needs.

During initial consultations that the core group held in 2005, one of the refrains that had cropped up frequently was “other children don’t talk to us since they don’t understand us.” These events seek to sink the differences.

All, however, is not hunky dory. Lack of maintenance work by the BBMP at Coles Park has forced parents and schools to stop bringing the children here. It has been almost a year now, and Krishnamoorthy rues that the “work indeed progresses very slowly.” For instance, the ramp at one of the gates still exists, but the railing has fallen off.Repeated complaints have fallen on deaf ears. The ball is definitely in the court of BBMP. Its role in the project too has been lauded in the Unesco report.

The two other projects, however, have been very successful. Last year, close to 2,000 children had visited the two parks.

Krishnamoorthy understands the need of children. She was herself the mother of athree-year-old boy with special needs when a casual remark by her husband about lack of adequate facilities at a park had set her thinking.

Six years later, she and her colleagues are working on a technical manual that would help the BBMP design parks and playgrounds that address crucial needs of children with special needs.

Travel Another India: Indian Railways for people with disabilities

Dear Colleagues,

Its very scary for a wheelchair users to travel in Indian Railways despite their tall claims of providing facilities for disabled passengers. The railways is not run professionally, its like a cake / prize which is shared by the political party supporting the Government- thanks to coalition politics.

Railways is too slow in taking any steps and reason given is that it is too huge an organisation. Their conduct shows that they have been least interested in filling up the employment seats reserved for the disabled under the garb that disabled are a threat to security and safety if employed on several posts (which they term as technical or safety posts though there is nothing technical about many of them) until the high court of Delhi ordered them to do so on a petition by AICB.

Currently there is only lip service. There are few officers who are sincere and serious but the overall attitude and systems do not look geared up to think about accessibility as a priority issue! They do things because courts are directing them to do and there is no pro activeness on the part of Railways which is a sad thing.

That they take this issue up on priority, they need to be pushed hard through all means.

Here are some experiences from our dear friend Ms. Shivani Gupta on her travel in Indian Railways. Its scary and indicates all is not well there for disabled people. The answer as the sector feels is not special coaches for disabled but mainstreaming of disability concerns in the mainstream coaches on the basis of universal design so that persons with disabilities could travel with families and not in to secluded "so called coaches for disabled".

Travel Another India: Indian Railways for people with disabilities: 

It was going to be a train trip for me soon after a long time. I was traveling to Puttaparthi by Karnataka Express for darshan of Sri Satya Sai Baba along with my father who is a staunch devotee.  For a number of people train travels were something to look forward to and enjoyable. In fact they were enjoyable for me to till I became severely disabled having to use a wheelchair. Since I became disabled I tried to avoid train travels as much as possible but considering that it was the most affordable means of travel I was forced to use it on occasions.


My father made the bookings well in advance. The railways gave a considerably large concession on the ticket for the disabled traveler and one escort traveling with them making the travel very cheap. We had heard about a ‘Handicapped Coach’ that the railways had introduced in every train. But it was an unreserved coach so a disabled passenger could not reserve it and as a matter of safety and convenience a disabled person would rarely travels unreserved, therefore this coach was useless for us as it still remains to be for most disabled travelers  .........read more at.. Travel Another India: Indian Railways for people with disabilities

Media has a larger role in breaking disability stereotypes

Dear Colleagues,

Here is an article on a workshop conducted by DLU (North East), Shishu Saroti, Guwahati

 on the role of Media vis-a-vis the Disability Sector"  published in The Sentinel. Several such initiatives are needed for most sectors since it is the wrong portrayal of persons with disabilities that reinforces the  age old prejudices and biases. 

Not because it is done intentionally but there is lack of awareness among the masses, the society, the media, the judiciary, the government babus, the medical and para-medical fraternity and above all the  family members of persons with disabilities and worst - persons with disabilities themselves!. Such eye-opening sessions are needed for every one and should be conducted more often in schools & colleges too!  

Media should help reduce prejudices against disabled persons

Media should adopt a rights-based approach rather than a charity approach while reporting about persons with disabilities. — Arman Ali

By our Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, March 17: “People with disabilities are often perceived as different by normal people. They are also discriminated against. This is unfortunate and should not happen. Disabled people too have hopes and aspirations like normal people. They should not be made to feel as if they are different and should be given equal opportunity to move forward in life, like the rest,” said Shishu Sarothi executive director Arman Ali while addressing an orientation programme held in Guwahati today on the topic ‘Role of Media vis-a-vis the Disability Sector’. The programme was organized for mediapersons by the Disability Law Unit- Northeast, Shishu Sarothi.

Ali further said, “The families of disabled persons should accept them with their weaknesses and strengths. A proper environment should be created at home so that they can feel encouraged to pursue their dreams.” He added, “Unfortunately, the government is also not doing enough for the disabled people. It should make provisions for such persons.”

He called upon the media to adopt a rights-based approach rather than a charity approach while reporting about persons with disabilities.

Speaking at the programme, senior journalist Prabal Das said, “In India, even though social and humanitarian issues get written about in newspapers and magazines, the disability issue has not been highlighted much. Media should portray disability in such a way so as to help increase awareness throughout society about the realities faced by disabled persons, reduce stereotypes, prejudices and harmful practices. Shishu Sarothi, which is building hope among the disabled people, should guide the media on how to portray the disability issue.”

Das lamented the fact that the Indian media usually highlights the disability issue during the Para Olympics.

Disability Law Unit-Northeast assistant project coordinator Amvalika Senapati said that as per the 2001 census, there were 5,30,300 disabled persons in Assam. As per the WHO report, 2011, there are 31,16,927 persons with disabilities in Assam.

She said, “Disability, whether mental or physical, does not disable a person. Discrimination, social stigma and poverty does. The media exerts a powerful influence on the way people with disabilities are perceived. It is important that persons with disabilities that they are portray realistically and that their disabilities are explained accurately.”

Examples of denial of right to education in respect of children with disability in the various districts of Assam, inaccessible public places and empathy of various authorities in implementing the laws and schemes in respect of persons with disabilities was highlighted by her. She highlighted how there were no provisions for disabled persons in railways stations and the ISBT.

During the programme, many points were highlighted. The media, it was said, should raise awareness about the challenges faced by persons with disabilities, bring discussion of disability into the public arena to challenge the idea of it as a taboo subject, promote policies, products and services that support full participation and development of disabled persons, avoid labels like ‘disability’ or ‘mental’ which have negative stereotypes or myths associated with them, allow persons with disabilities to speak for themselves, encourage and to expose common myths about disability.

Source: The Sentinel

Delhi Government's New Admission Guidelines voilate the RTE Act 2009

Dear Colleagues,

Directorate of Education, Delhi Government has recently issued Guidelines for Admission to Pre-primary/Class I in Sarvodaya Vidyalayas  dated 27 Feb 2012 . This guideline seeks to reserve 15% seats for SC; 7.5% for ST; 3% seats for PH; 2% for wards of employee of Directorate of Education. While this allocation may look very reasonable, however, to our amazement, this is utterly against the mandate of the RTE Act 2009. 

Such a reservation can not be permitted  under the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009 (in short RTE Act, 2009).  What will happen to the right of every child to seek admission in the neighbourhood schools? What will happen if the category for whom reservation is made doesn't live in a certain neighbourhood? Is the Government going to bring them from some other corner of the city? Will that not be against the concept of neighbourhood schools? What will happen to children from disadvantaged sections and those from weaker sections as defined in the RTE Act?

To me this amounts to introducing  a screening process of some kind which is actually against the spirit of RTE Act and is punishable under the law. This basic exercise should have been done by the Directorate officials before issuing such an illogical and contradictory provisions in the Guidelines. 

I am sure the officials are well aware about the provisions of the RTE Act which mandates in section 3 that every child from 6-14 years has a right to free and compulsory education in the neighbourhood schools till the completion of elementary education. Therefore, screening processes of this nature should not be used to deny admission to children since this would be violation of the RTE Act 2009

I strongly support our colleague Mr. Ashok Agarwal who has challenged these guidelines and this would be in fitness of things that the guidelines be suitably amended/modified.

regards

Subhash Chandra Vashishth

Advocate

Persons with Disabilities do not want special coaches

Dear Colleagues,

We all have been witness to the vulnerability of travelers with disabilities in secluded Railways Coaches for the Disabled as well as the chaos and disorderliness in these coaches. I had myself been witness to few such incidents. Thus we feel, it would not be in the fitness of things to continue pushing for special coaches for the disabled; we have heard attendants being pushed out saying that they are non-disabled and hence should travel in other compartments; we have seen highhandedness of Railway Protection Force officials, Police and paramilitary officials forcefully gaining entry in to special coaches for the disabled and even pushing non-disabled passengers in the special coaches after charging some amount!

In absence of strict monitoring mechanisms, rail coaches meant for 

disabled are often misused by non-disabled passengers. 

Copyrighted Picture @SCVashishth

We have also heard incidents of visually impaired passengers being allotted special coach, who otherwise can travel in any of the general coaches! On top of it, the coach being touted as "Coach for the Disabled" has no provision of ramp or level entry hence is literally inaccessible.

The Persons with Disabilities Act mandates making the railways barrier free and not creating secluded special coaches. The objective is to mainstream rather than excluding them.  Therefore, if persons with disabilities of this country are rejecting this announcement, it should be respected. 

Differently abled don't want special coaches: The Hindu

The announcement by Railway Minister Dinesh Trivedi on Wednesday on provision of special coaches for the differently abled people has not found favour with a section of them.

The special coach for disabled is a joke played on 70 millions disabled 

people of India! The coach is neither accessible nor safe for people

 and is often added either close to Engine or at the tail of train!

Copyrighted Picture @SCVashishth

“We expect the government to have a universal design for coaches, which would be accessible for all with furnished washrooms, considering the needs of the differently abled people,” said Sminu Jindal, managing director of Jindal Saw and the chairperson of Svayam, a charitable trust for differently abled people. Ms. Jindal is herself a differently abled person.

Discrimination

“We have been working hard to provide equality and dignity to all, including the elderly and the disabled, and this step goes in the opposite direction discriminating the disabled from the rest. This renders the community more vulnerable, as it does not allow [their] joining the mainstream and restricts them from travelling on general coaches,” she said.

Further, the plan to build escalators would not help the differently abled, she said and requested the Minister to provide for ramps and elevators which would help everyone.

Coverage in Deccan Chronicle

“The announcement on introduction of special coaches for disabled friendly is not a welcome step. We expect the government to have a universal design/coaches which would be accessible for all with furnished accessible washrooms, considering the needs for differently abled people... This step goes in the opposite direction which discriminates the disabled from the rest. This is more vulnerable for the community, as it does not allow mainstreaming and restricts disabled from travelling on general coaches,” said chairperson Sminu Jindal, Svayam, an initiative of Sminu Jindal Charitable Trust.

“Announcement of building escalators, will not come in aid of differently-abled people. We would request the minister to alongside build ramps and elevators which would help all,” she said.