Awareness among people underscored

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, MAY 8. Speakers at a seminar on disabled welfare here on Tuesday underscored the need for improving awareness among the people about the provisions of the Disabled Welfare Act, 1995.

The Hyderabad District Collector, Mr. Rajeshwar Tiwari, said that the purpose of conducting the seminar was primarily to sensitise people about the various provisions that had been laid down by the Government for improving the lot of the disabled.

Although the Act specified that there should be three per cent reservation for the disabled, it was not being implemented in toto, he said, adding that while the reservation was being implemented in Hyderabad district, he would also look into any lapses in implementation.

Although the responsibility for implementing the Act in its true spirit rested with the administration, Mr. Tiwari said that even the people were responsible to ensure that it was implemented properly. He said that employment apart, he would also try to see that the three per cent reservation was implemented in self employment programmes and other developmental schemes.

Mr. D.S.V. Prasad, Executive Director of the Centre for Development Research, said the State was the first to have a separate department to look into the welfare of the disabled. However, he stressed the need for a Ministry exclusively to look into these aspects.

Among the other speakers were Messrs Ravinder Raju from Mana, a voluntary organisation, Ravinder Reddy, Regional Officer, A.P. State Pollution Control Board, social workers -- Nageswara Rao, Nagabhushanam and Suresh. The speakers spoke of the imperative need for accurate compilation as regards the physically disabled.

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