People with Disabilities interface with Government

On 20^th May 2011 Ekta organised a District-level interface between People with Disabilities (PWDs) and Government Departments. The event was organised in collaboration with Spread, Word, KFA, IDS, Sahara and SEDP and was hosted at the Tribal Museum, Koraput.

The event enabled disabled people to raise a number of issues. These included the facts that:

• Out of 868 Children with disabilities, 378 are out of school

• 895 PWDs are without certificate.

• 1597 PWDs are without Disability Pension

• 928 are out of monthly PDS/BPL/APL/

• 2239 are not covered under IAY

• 1137 PWDS don't have Job cards

• 1% only involved in MGNREGS

The expectation of the joint organisations is that we should see:

• 100% certification

• 100% coverage of PWDs in Social security entitlements.

• 100% coverage of CWDs in School & quality education for CWDs

• Coverage of eligible PWDs in income generation programmes

• Special focus on PWDs on MGNREGS

• Revenue Land rights/Forest rights to eligible PWDs

• Barrier free public infrastructure in District

• 100% coverage of eligible PWDs under Free aid and appliances.

• Special focus of PWDs under RedCross fund for treatment

• Bus( private/Govt.) Pass to all PWDs

• Inclusion of PWDs in different committees/forum created by Govt.( from Village to district)

The event was covered The Hindu newspaper.