National

PM promises aid to disabled

The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, with physically challenged students from the Sucheta Kriplani Shiksha Niketan in Rajasthan, at his residence in New Delhi on Sunday. _ Photo: S. Arneja

New Delhi May 5. The Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, today said efforts to uplift physically handicapped persons have been very little and promised to give all assistance to disabled children to help them succeed in life.

``Compared to the number of physically handicapped persons, whatever efforts have been made so far are very little,'' he said while spending some time with a group of physically challenged children at his Race Course Road residence here.

Mr. Vajpayee praised them highly for winning a glittering trophy and 10 gold medals at the recent mini para olympics event in the United Kingdom.

He not only posed with the 10 children from Sucheta Kriplani Shiksha Niketan near Jodhpur in Rajasthan for photographs, but also gave them a big hand when they performed spellbinding feats despite their physical disabilities.

The Prime Minister said while some people were born physically handicapped, others became disabled later due to some reason. ``There is a need to educate and train them to make them self reliant,'' he said adding that it was necessary to ensure that they lived with dignity.

Lauding the efforts being made by the school run by a social worker Narayan Singh Manaklao, Mr. Vajpayee said people all over the country should be apprised of the noble work and wished that its activities expanded.

He said the children, in the 8-12 age group, not only earned laurels for the nation, but demonstrated that with sheer will power and confidence one can surmount any barrier. ``People should draw inspiration from these children.'' Promising the children that he would one day visit their school, Mr. Vajpayee asked the delighted children ``well, how will it be?''

He then asked the former Rajasthan Chief Minister, Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, who had brought the children to the Prime Minister's residence, as to how the Centre could extend assistance to them.

``Give me your valuable suggestions. A good work is being done, how can it be given more encouragement?'' he posed.

The Prime Minister also lauded the de-addiction campaign launched by Mr. Manaklao, a college professor-turned-social worker, and said unless the people gave up taking drugs and other intoxicants; their future would not brighten.

He said many people might not be know about the good work being done by the school and assured them that the Centre would give them all help. ``Please come out with suggestions,'' he told the teachers who had accompanied the students.

Stating that it was a national duty to emancipate the physically handicapped, he said many countries were doing a lot of things for them.

— PTI

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