JK disability issues

Memorandum Submitted before:

The Honorable,

Chief minister of J&K

Srinagar.

Subject: Problems of physically challenged people in the sectors of Education,

Employment and accessibility in transport and buildings; reservations etc.

Respected Sir,

Accept the Cordial greetings from all physically and mentally challenged people of J&K.

We the physically challenged people of J&K state want the ratification of UN convention on Disability Rights. We are thankful for that effort from your greatness in the disability sector. Now we want the implementation of the UN convention at grass root level. The physically and mentally challenged people will be empowered thus. We want to integrate ourselves to the society by getting equal opportunities, protection of Rights and full participation as promised by JK disabilities Act 1998 and Indian Disabilities Act 1995. Our constitution guarantees us Right to life with dignity but we are being ignored by the implementing agencies at lower levels. The already existing laws are not implemented in a well way. There are flaws in reservation policy and the department of social welfare, composite regional centre Bemina and vocational rehabilitation centre for disabled people at K. G. Polytechnic Srinagar meant for our help are not functioning properly. We have the problems like following.

1. Recently JK Board of professional Exams notified B.Ed program entrance. All categories are included except physically challenged people. There is concession / relaxation of 10% marks in favor of the reserved categories. The most deserving category for marks percentage concession is physically challenged because of deformities and impotency due to various disabilities. A physically challenged student having less eye sight, deformity in hand cannot perform well as a physically fit because the time allotted to attempt the paper is same. Still we have not been included in the reservation. SRO 294 gives us three percent horizontal reservation and Kashmir University accepts the same. The University of Kashmir provides the reservation in all subjects and programmes to the physically challenged students but the Board for professional exams denies reservation to the Disabled in all exams which is totally unjust and against the JK Disabilities and Indian Disability Acts 1998 and 1995 respectively. Even the national universities provide reservations to physically challenged people in MBBS, Engineering, agriculture etc. Now the notification for Common Entrance test through JK Board for professional exams is coming soon. We the physically challenged people should get reservations in it through your highnesses intervention.

2. In addition we face problems of access to government buildings and buses. We the physically challenged people are not in a position to visit everywhere with dignity. Even courts, where we expect justice are inaccessible for us. The Govt, offices of our concern like social welfare are situated on top floors and have no availability of ramps and lifts. We have to face humiliation while approaching to hospitals, schools, Govt. offices, universities, courts, railway stations and civil secretariat. Our problem is going to multiply day by day, as new buildings under construction like school buildings, hospitals in Jammu and Srinagar, Hajj house, court buildings, heritage buildings, shrines like Dargah Hazratbal and Mata kherbhawani, university campuses, museums, college buildings, railway stations and proposed international cricket stadium at Sidra Jammu are having non – disabled friendly architectural designs. How can we expect our empowerment in these circumstances? Only a circular directing that all government buildings from now shall be disabled friendly. In the same way the buses purchased onwards must be disable friendly. Again your greatnesses intervention will make the under construction buildings barrier free for us. I have written countless times to the authorities in that matter but nothing happened.

3. There should be at least one special educator in a school. Otherwise talking about total literacy count under SSA is Joke with disabled community.

4. A suitable curriculum should be framed for children with special needs and introduced without wasting more time.

5. Every educational institution should introduce special education for mentally challenged and Braille script of education for visually impaired children. Up to day the integration policy is there that is physically and mentally challenged children are allowed in schools but nor assistive and supportive devices are provided nor special teachers are available in the schools therefore most of the children with special needs either become dropouts or face stagnation and finally become parasites or dependents.

6. There should be atleast one identified school with inclusive education facility, fully disabled friendly environment and equipped with special staff so that a ray of hope is seen among children with disabilities and their parents towards education.

7. The ongoing railway project will be a toy for us. All of us excluding visually impaired can see the train but cannot enjoy railway journeys freely because railway stations J&K are also non disabled friendly. Once again you are requested to direct the railway authorities to construct ramps instead of stairs to make it convenient for physically challenged to move around especially for those using wheel chair. The purchase of bogies should be purely

disabled friendly but there is nobody to listen to our request. A special employment drive in railways can accommodate many physically challenged, less educated youth in the newly introduced railways in J&K. therefore a proposal may please be forwarded to the central government Ministry of railways in this connection.

8. Employment through SSRB, PSC and District authorities should take disability in consideration. There should be no second thought in posts advertised that 3% horizontal reservations are provided without any difficulty. In past 20 years we have been ignored by other governments now the present govt. should advertise backlog posts in disability quota to provide hundreds of post graduate, graduate and undergraduate disabled youth employment with dignity. There should in fact a special employment drive in favor of physically challenged educated youth to ensure our full empowerment and independence? The already employed disabled people face number of hardships. One is that they are posted far from their home places. In the same way the contractual lecturer appointees in the disabled category are sent to far fling colleges and higher secondary schools. In addition there are no reservations in promotion quotas. All this adds to the hardships of the disabled. There should be promotion quota for physically challenged with circular passed. Whenever selected lists appear there is no waiting list for the disable candidates. PSC has denied any identified post for a blind talented student [Tariq Bashir, PG History] who appeared in the competitive exam of Kashmir Administrative services exam 2009. Earlier they denied him the provision of a scribe too. These problems may please be redressed on priority.

9. The scholarships for the students with disabilities are not provided at college and School levels this discourages these students in continuation of their studies with interest. The SC and ST students are prioritized in this matter and disabled students are ignored.

10. Composite Regional centre is one of the important institutions, opened by the central govt. in Srinagar. It can cater person with disabilities by provision of assistive devices needed for their mobility and also provide special education to the youth and make them able to earn by working in the disability sector. But the institute is in moving towards dark period because of lack of technical administrative staff. Mostly its directorship is given as an additional charge to busy people; hence it is not useful for the development of disabled. Therefore along with full time director experienced staff is needed to be employed in the composite Regional centre so that persons with disabilities are able to get aids and appliances for mobility and awareness about centrally sponsored schemes. Otherwise this asset is going to be ruined. As per the bye laws of the institution it should run autonomously with the help and support of state with facility of producing manpower for the rehabilitation. An accountant is presently its administrative officer that is pity. There should be technical Administration in the institution without any delay.

11. Persons with disabilities have grievances about various departments. The redressal of these grievances is possible only when a full time disability commissioner is there as is at central government level. The J&K government has made the department of social welfare as the parent department for disability that is already overburdened with issues of ICDS, widows, old aged people, SC; ST etc. therefore disabled get again marginalized in this department because of non – availability of full time disability commissioner. The availability of full time disability commissioner will help us to highlight our problems and redress them in time redresses.

12. The Govt. of J&K social welfare department announced provision of motorized wheel chairs to persons with loco motor disabilities but the chairs were not provided till date. The time for using these chairs in this hilly and cold area is now going on and on what use of they are if issued in winter. These chairs should be issued soon.

13. The non – governmental organizations working in the sector of disability are not given supportive grants to work for the rehabilitation and empowerment of the physically challenged. Our organization has submitted requisites for the grant in aid but from last one year the case is lying in the Social Welfare department, Civil Secretariat with no process.

14. \Your party has been keen to empower the persons with disabilities. The party patron and the union Minister for new and renewable energy has promised of enhancement of monthly stipend to the physically challenged people of our state. The promise may please be fulfilled to keep his word stand. It was a slogan of the party during the assembly election 2009.

15. In other states the disability pension is 800 – 1000 rupees but here in our state the pension amount is RS 400/= which is released in haphazard manner after months.

16. All this violates the Right to Equality. The right to equality is one of the six rights that have been granted to us. In the Indian Constitution these rights have been described as:

The State shall not discriminate against any citizen on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, and place of birth or any of them.
No citizen shall, on grounds only of religion, race, caste, sex, place of birth or any of them, be subject to any disability, liability, restriction or condition with regard to access to shops, public restaurants, hotels and places of public entertainment; or the use of wells, tanks, bathing ghats, roads and places of public resort maintained wholly or partly out of State funds or dedicated to the use of the general public.
Nothing in this article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for physically challenged.

Your highness is therefore requested to please direct the J&K Govt. to take necessary steps regarding the reservations, Education, Employment, Accessibility and Rehabilitation of Physically challenged.

With High Regards & Deep Respect.

Yours faithfully

Javed Ahmad Tak

Social Activist

Honorary Chairman

Humanity Welfare Organization HELPLine NGO