TEAM HERALD
PANJIM: The callous manner in which society treats persons with disability is further aggravated when facilities put in place by government are neglected by custodians.
Vishant Nagvekar who lives with a disability of the feet has pointed out two instances where persons with such disabilities are at the receiving end of callous authorities.
In the case of the District Hospital at Mapusa, the lavatory that is specially designed for person s with disability is kept locked for reasons best known to the authorities in charge.
“When I visited the District Hospital, at Mapusa, as a disabled person, I went to the toilet having Disabled logo, however, it was locked. When I inquired with hospital’s Head Clerk, I found that he was not even aware of the existence of such a toilet,” Vishant told Herald.
In another instance, Vishant wanted to park his vehicle right outside the Social Welfare Department ~the very department that has to care for persons with disabilities and the parking slot that had a board which mentions that it’s reserved for persons with disability. “I found that the parking slot is blocked by a police barricade which reads: “reserved parking for ambulance. While the slot mentioned as reserved for ambulances is occupied by other vehicles.”
“Government has provided many facilities to persons with disabilities, one of them is providing toilets at public places. However, due to ignorance of Government Servants, in this case the Head Clerk, the persons with disabilities are being deprived of their rights,” Nagvekar said.
He said he has brought this to the notice of the authorities concerned who have asked him to give written complaints.
This comes on the back of news that the PWD headquarters at Altinho is not disabled friendly and this was brought to light through a letter written by Raj Vaidya to the principal chief engineer PWD.
“On visiting the PWD Building in Altinho, I realized that this building is not at all disabled friendly, and thus the disabled, as well as senior citizens find great difficulty in accessing the building and its services,” Vaidya said in his letter.
Vaidya has requested the chief engineer to take urgent measures to make the building disabled-friendly, as per the Persons With Disabilities Act and comply with it before December 3rd, 2013, which is the World Disabled Day.
