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Awareness drive in rural areas planned

— Photo: C. Venkatachalapathy

CLEARING DOUBTS: Santhosh Kanna, a lecturer in NIEPMD interacting with participants at an awareness programme in Puducherry on Thursday.

PUDUCHERRY: As there had been an increase in the cases of physical disabilities among the rural population in the Union Territory, the Social Welfare Department has decided to embark on an awareness campaign in villages to impart lessons on early detection and prevention.

Shortly after attending an awareness programme at Kirumampakkam here on Thursday, Director of Social Welfare Department P. Priyatarshny told The Hindu that they had roped in the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD) at Muttukadu to conduct awareness programmes.

The lecturers from NIEPMD, a resource centre for empowerment of persons with multiple disabilities such as cerebral palsy, autism, hearing impairment and vision problem, would highlight the major causes for disabilities and preventive methods, she said.

There are around 20,000 people with disabilities availing themselves of various assistance provided by the government, she said, adding that out of the total beneficiaries, around 15,000 were from the rural areas. The number of children with multiple disabilities in the Union Territory was 5,000, Ms. Priyatarshny said.

The practice of marriages among family members had been a major reason for multiple disabilities in rural areas, she added. The total number of people with disabilities in the Union Territory could be even more as those living in the high-income group did not get registered.

Affirmative action such as awareness programmes on early detection and prevention were the key components of the Disabilities Act 1995, she said, adding that similar programmes would be held in rural pockets. The next awareness programme would be held on Friday and Saturday at Oulgaret.

For making government offices and hospitals more accessible to the physically challenged persons, the department had asked the Public Works Department to provide such buildings with ramps, Ms. Priyatarshny said.

Santhosh Kanna, lecturer, NIEPMD, said there were several scientific methods to detect problems related to hearing, vision, speech and mental functioning.

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