Discrimination with Disabled

Govind Sharma
The state of Jammu and Kashmir has the highest number of disabled persons among the other states accounting to nearly three percent of its population, reveals the 2011 census. As per the figures, 361153 persons (2.87 percent) of the State’s total population of 1.25 crore, suffer from various disabilities including locomotive problems, mental illness, retardation, multiple disabilities, problems related to seeing, hearing and speech.
The occurrence of various kinds of disabilities at all-India level is only 2.1 percent, 26810557 persons of the total population of 1,270,272,105. Out of total 361153 disabled persons in J&K, 2.4 lakh persons are males and 1.56 persons are females. At least 32393 persons are suffering from problems related to mental health and 44441 people are facing with multiple disabilities.
It is irony that in J&K there is nobody to take cognizance of various issues being faced by people with disability. In this or that way, they are deprived of the pleasure of enjoying a normal life. They have either no or restricted access to public places, institutions etc due to limitations of infrastructure and un-supporting public perceptions of disabilities. Besides, opportunities in various domains of education, employment etc are highly restricted for them. Access to appropriate healthcare is further restricted due to inadequate public health care infrastructure and high expenses associated with private healthcare. Societal perceptions and stereotypes lead to further anxiety and exclusion for the differently abled.
There are some philanthropic organizations and NGOs that are doing good work to rehabilitate these specially disabled people. The Government has also taken some steps for them such as concession of fares in journey by bus or train, reservation of some employment, disability pension, scholarship to disabled students, etc but much is yet to do so that these people also lead a normal, independent and respectful life.
Sharing the woes of the disabled people, Abdul Rashid Bhat, State president, J&K Handicapped Association said that in every society, disabled people are looked upon as social burdens and the discrimination with them starts from within the family. “The differently abled are not ‘disabled’ only because they are physically or mentally ‘impaired’ but also because society is built in a manner that does not cater to their needs. He said in our State there is hardly any public place/building where disabled people have easy access. Even in banks, ATMs and hospitals, they have no access”, he regretted.
Bhat said there are many small ways to make a city more accessible for people with differing needs: unobstructed, smooth sidewalks, stairs with proper hand rails, buildings with all level differences addressed by way of ramps with the right gradient that allows independent access or elevators, wider doors with handles that are placed within the reach of wheelchair users and public toilets with at least one unisex accessible toilet block fitted with hand rails but our Government has no will to do so.
“Though Government gives 50% concession in fares of passenger buses to handicapped, but on the ground picture is different, as drivers of these buses even avoid picking them up and if somehow any handicapped person manages to board the public transport, the conductors of the vehicles demand full fare and on refusal, they abuse them publicly. Moreover, there is no provision for reservation of seats for disabled people in public transport”, he regretted. He said that Government should provide free of cost scooties and electric tricycles to the needy disabled people.
RS Manhas, State president, J&K Handicapped Welfare Association, said disabled people have very less educational facilities in our state. He said that resource rooms were established by department of education to provide education to the disabled students through, Braille, sign language and other techniques under concept of relaxed curriculum but the special educators employed through State Project Director Sarva Shikhsha Abhiyan are working in different offices and those resource rooms are now defunct, thereby compelling the children with disabilities (particularly blind and deaf) to study in normal schools. He further said that at present there is no reservation for them in professional colleges.
“Overcoming these difficulties with the support of their parents, friends and relatives, if some youth attain higher qualifications, they face difficulties to get employment, as recruiting agencies like Public service Commission and State Services Recruitment Board ignores the recruitment of educated youth with disabilities. Even there is no mention of disability category in the notifications of these recruiting agencies”, he maintained. He further shared that in our state there is no provision of scribes/amanuensis to students with severe disabilities during various Board/competitive examinations, the norm which is being followed by CBSE and UPSC.
Manhas also expressed anguish that hundreds of cases for seeking loan under National Handicapped Finance Development Corporation schemes are pending in the district offices of SC/ST/OBC Board in the State due to complex conditions like giving guarantors, mortgages, etc. He said no body agrees to give guarantee for a handicapped while Board demands guarantor and that too in the form of a Government official. “Due to these complicated conditions, disabled youth get discouraged and instead of establishing business, they are compelled to live a dependent life”, he said, adding, Government should provide interest free loan to them.
Ex-president of JKWA, KK Verma, said, “Government of J&K has been providing Rs 1000 per month pension to persons with disability under social security scheme, which is in no way can meet their various medical and social needs. He said that in many states of our country, the social security pension is around Rs 1000 in case of mild to moderate disability and Rs 2000 in case of severe disability. He said there are about 2 lakh disabled persons registered with Social Welfare Department but only 1.5 lakh are getting the pension and remaining persons are deprived of the same despite the fact that they have fulfilled all the formalities.
He said that National Trust Act 1999, which has so many schemes that can provide shelter, health and insurance facilities to persons with mental disabilities, is in vogue throughout the country except J&K. Verma said on March 2016, Governor of J&K, NN Vohra, accorded assent to “J&K State Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Bill, 2016”, yet the Act has not been enacted in the State. “Appointment of full Disability Commissioner is a major demand of the disabled people of the State so that they may project their grievances in front of him but even after Government approval, the Disability Commissioner has not assumed the office”, he lamented.
Alleging that in the past some cases came to fore in which undeserving people managed to get fake disability certificates to secure Government jobs, Verma said that the process of issuing disability certificates should be strengthened by the medical boards by including the specialists viz ophthalmologist, ENT specialist, psychiatrist and others in their team to assess the people with disability. He further asserted for extension of National Food Security scheme to handicapped and reservation of jobs in public and private sector as well as corporations. He also stressed on establishment of Composite Regional Centre in Jammu like Srinagar and establishment of Advisory Board for persons with disabilities so that special attention can be given to this vulnerable section of the society.
Another ex-vice president of JKHWA, RC Sharma said that J&K Government as well as higher authorities of Social Welfare Department never showed seriousness towards the burning demands of the disabled people and it can be well gauzed from the fact that these helpless people recently resorted to 72-hour long hunger strike at Exhibition Ground, Jammu against discrimination met to them but nobody from the Government as well as Social Welfare Department came to listen them.
When contacted, Director, Social Welfare Department, Jammu, Veerji Hangloo, said that in September this year, a meeting related to issues of disabled people was held at Srinagar under the chairmanship of Governor NN Vohra and various decisions taken in the meeting for the welfare of disabled people are being implemented.
On access of disabled people to Government and public buildings, he said that the department has received funds amounting to Rs 42.74 lakh for making 147 already identified buildings disability friendly and DPRs for modernization of 67 more buildings have been approved while seven buildings have already been made disabled friendly. On the issue of lack of ramps in Government buildings, he disclosed that Public Works Department has already issue instructions to all concerned departments to ensure that clearance of any new Government building shall not be issued unless the building design has provision for ramps, etc for disabled persons.
Regarding provision of free of cost scooties, electric tricycles and wheelchairs, Hangloo said that time to time these means of transport are provided free of cost to disabled people. He revealed that within next 10 days the department through State Rehabilitation Council is going to distribute 500 scooties among the beneficiaries while 500 more will be distributed before March next year and other 600 before December 2018.
On need of special schools (Composite Regional Centre) for the disabled children, the Director said that there are only seven such centres in the Country including the one in Srinagar, which is bring run since 2005 while another CRC is coming up in Nagrota area of Jammu for which the process of land acquisition is on. “Moreover, 22 special residential schools (one for each district of the State) for disabled children have been approved by the Government and DPRs are being formed to establish these schools”, he said, adding, School Education Department has also been requested to provide special educators/sign language interpreters and teaching/learning materials in all Government schools.
Regarding provision of scribes/amanuensis to students with severe disabilities during various board/competitive examinations, Hangloo said that like CBSE and UPSC, J&K Public Service Commission has adopted this norm while talks are on with J&K Board and universities of the State to follow the same in the interest of the students with disabilities. On the issue of alleged misuse of disability quota by fake disability certificate holders, he clarified that till date the department has not get even a single complaint from anybody.
He further disclosed that at present seven District Disability Rehabilitation Centres (one each in Udhampur, Leh, Anantnag, Doda, Baramulla, Poonch and Jammu) are functional in the State while four more are going to open soon for the benefit of the specially abled population. Clarifying on appointment of full time Disability Commissioner, the Director said the process of appointment got delayed due to some technical issues but now all obstacles have been cleared and within a couple of days Disability Commissioner is going to assume the office at Rehari in Jammu.
Speaking about J&K State Trust for Welfare of Persons with Autism Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities Bill, 2016, Hangloo said that the Act is going to lose its validity soon and needs to further validate in the coming Assembly Session before its proper implementation. On the issue of pension, he said that about 1.5 lakh registered disabled people are getting pension in the State while the cases of remaining 20-25 thousand, who are newly registered, are under process.
He further told that many other demands of the disabled population like reservation in professional colleges, provision of benefits under National Food Security Scheme and provision of one room in the office premises of Directorate of Social Welfare Department, Jammu/Srinagar for the association of handicapped people, etc are under examination.

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