TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Disability Rights Association of Goa (DRAG) has condemned the harassment meted out to persons with disability by authorities and demanded action against the Mamlatdar (Tiswadi) Madhu Narvekar and Deputy Collector (north) Sabaji Shetye for what it called “rude and arrogant behaviour towards a person with disability, when he approached them to cancel his election duty.”
DRAG has also demanded action against them for violating government instructions by organizing election training sessions in Institute Menezes Braganza, Panjim, as the hall is not accessible for persons with disability.
In a letter to Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar, the State Election Officer M Modassir and State Disability Commissioner Manoj Kumar, DRAG argued, that the government election machinery comprising mamlatdars and deputy collectors are harassing persons with disability by posting them on election duty despite guidelines from the Election Commission of India not to post persons with disability on election duty and being fully aware that they will not be able to do justice to their jobs due to lack of disabled friendly infrastructure.
DRAG has also criticized the CCP for harassing persons with disability while implementing reserved parking for persons with disability in the city. After delaying to issue the NOC for the parking for disabled slots for nine months, the CCP took another three months to install signboards and violated District Magistrate North’s order when erecting signboards with an intention of harassing persons with disability, DRAG said.
The CCP has also allotted parking slots to persons with disability in the basement of the Panjim Municipal Market when they are fully aware that the basement is not accessible to persons with disability and the City Corporation had already installed signboards and railings for disabled parking five years back at the entrance of the market, DRAG added.
In a letter to the District Magistrate (North) DRAG demanded the signboards be rectified at the earliest and parking for disabled be given at the entrance of the Panjim Municipal Market.
DRAG has also submitted a memorandum to the Panjim Traffic Cell to ensure that only vehicles having the disability logo are parked in the parking slot reserved for persons
with disability.
