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Seeking justice for the disabled
THOSE WORKING for the rehabilitation of the physically and mentally challenged got a shot in the arm when the Comptroller and Auditor General of India pulled up the Union Government some months ago for its poor handling of funds for the disabled.
They hoped that things would soon change in favour of the disabled. But nothing has happened till date. The neglect of the disabled, particularly the mentally challenged, has continued without change. Concerns voiced by parents of the mentally challenged have remained unaddressed, as much as the woes of the uniquely abled.
The angst of these parents came to the fore at a gathering held in Kochi last week. The meeting was organised by Parivaar, the National Federation of Parents' Associations for Persons with Mental Handicap, Autism, Cerebral Palsy and Multiple Disabilities.
"We are not on charity mode, but on rights mode," said J.P. Gadkari, president of Parivaar. Despite the assurances in the Persons with Disabilities Act of 1995, known as the PD Act 1995, the mentally challenged in the country have been getting little care. Mr. Gadkari said hardly four per cent of the Rs. 27,000-crore budgetary allocation for the Union Ministry of Social Justice was spent for the disabled. "This disparity is iniquitous," he said.
Asserting that the Government has the responsibility to treat and look after the weakest sections of the society, Parivaar has for long been campaigning for the formation of a separate Ministry for Disabled.
"We are now trying to make the parents aware of the importance of rehabilitating their children by giving them vocational training," Mr. Gadkari said.
Nearly 75 per cent of the mentally challenged cases can be trained and educated. But the Government's role in their rehabilitation becomes egregiously clear from the fact that there is only one Government vocational training centre for the mentally challenged in the State. The C.H. Mohammed Koya Memorial Institute for the Mentally Handicapped at Pangapara, Thiruvananthapuram, is a loner among the dozens of vocational training centres being run privately.
"The Government does not even give the mid-day meal to the students here," said A. Philipose, principal of the Institute.
Special educators insist that parents should accept the reality that their children are disabled. They should get over the social stigma of disability. "That is crucial to successful rehabilitation of the mentally challenged," Dr. Philipose said.
Vocational rehabilitation is possible for most mentally challenged persons. They can be trained in trades such as carpentry, tailoring, catering, phenyl making and candle making.
By Abdul Latheef Naha
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Life
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Thiruvananthapuram
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