Editorial
Concern for physically challenged
Enabling environment needed
Despite the fact that 9 per cent of the population are physically challenged, the national budget allocates less than 0.5 per cent for their development. Even this pittance hardly reaches the beneficiaries at the right time at the right place.
The physically challenged people have also to come up against social barriers to their integration into the mainstream. This happens at educational institutions, workplaces, while at the service providing organisations under the public and private sectors, they are often discriminated against when they approach for any service.
Such attitude of the public towards the differently-able is somewhat deep-seated. This social barrier facing the physically challenged people's integration into the mainstream would necessitate a change in the people's attitude through awareness creation.
So far, public perception about the challenged was one of providing welfare or relief. Since they did not look physically perfect, those concerned about them gave emphasis on undertaking welfare-oriented programmes. Given the opportunity, they can contribute equally, if not more, than the otherwise normal members of society. To enable them to do so would require their empowerment.
The government will have to first enhance the status of the physically challenged. Policymakers in the government would need to frame laws and ensure that every national programme is designed in such a way that they are inclusive of the physically challenged. The yearly national budget itself should reflect the government's concern about them. The allowance they already get from the national budget should be increased in terms of amount as well as coverage.
At the same time, the overall environment of the educational institutions, workplaces and the service providing agencies has to be made physically challenged-friendly. The marketplaces, schools, colleges and universities should be provided with ramps and other facilities to ease their movement. Similar arrangements for them will have to be made in public transports.
While we need to undertake inclusive national development programmes to provide space for the physically challenged, it has also to address their poverty and gender-related aspects.
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