TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: Disability Rights Association of Goa (DRAG) president, Avelino de Sa, has announced his candidature for the Panjim Assembly by-election.
De Sa, who is physically challenged, said he was contesting the elections to be a voice for people with disability and the elderly in the Goa Assembly so as to make Goa a better place for them and to show society the capability of persons with disability.
De Sa alleged that despite Panjim being the capital of Goa and the venue for the International Film Festival for the last 10 years, the city is still not accessible for persons with disability and the elderly even though many laws have been enacted and the building by-laws have been amended in 2005.
“This is because persons with disability are not in positions of authority and the government has been taking them for granted,” he said. De Sa requested the people of Panjim to believe in the different abilities of persons with disability and give him a chance to solve the city’s problems.
Reacting to BJP spokesman Dr Wilfred Mesquita’s statement that it is impossible to end corruption in Goa, De Sa said the power to end corruption is in the hands of the people and not the government. He said, “We can end corruption today itself, if we so desire. The solution is to stop giving bribes. If there are no givers there will be no takers.”
De Sa is a commerce graduate, and an investment and taxation consultant for the last 12 years. He is the founder President of DRAG, member of the North Goa local committee of the National Trust for Welfare of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities and a member of the National Committee for the Protection of Rights for Persons with Disability.
De Sa is also a member of the Association of Crusaders for Jesus with Mary and the YMCA Panjim. He has been awarded the vocational service award by Rotary Club of Panjim Riviera for his services to persons with disability.
Under his leadership DRAG has been awarded Goa State Award for the Best NGO for welfare of differently abled and the Godfrey Phillips Bravery award for social courage.
