NEW DELHI: Tourism minister Kapil Mishra on Tuesday asked for the establishment of a taskforce on 'persons with disabilities' before the Delhi Dialogue Commission. The minister stressed on the urgent need to collaborate with civil society, disability groups, the government and academics to ensure Delhi becomes an accessible city for everyone. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Need-taskforce-on-disability-Tourism-minister-tells-Delhi-Dialogue-Commission/articleshow/49159733.cms In a letter to DDC chairperson Ashish Khetan on Tuesday, Mishra said: "There is an immediate need to pursue empowerment initiatives for people with physical and mental disabilities who often get left behind when any policy is designed or implemented."
He has gone on to list a number of initiatives which are required to improve accessibility and ensure empowerment of such people. "There needs to be immediate mainstreaming of and interventions to allow them to avail healthcare and education facilities. They should have easy access to Delhi as a city, from roads, monument, bridges, public spaces, private locations to homes and colonies. The PWD (persons with disability) Act, 1995 also needs to be implemented urgently," he said. Other suggestions include the establishment of a Delhi State Disability Commission with a full-time commissioner, involvement of disabled persons groups while making policies and schemes for them, ensuring a certain percentage of jobs for physically handicapped persons and starting a special cell for rights of disabled women in rural and urban areas. Mishra said that to ensure their mainstreaming, it is also essential to provide employment for them and the government should start an employment-linked training programme to end discrimination in the social sphere. "Delhi should become the first completely barrier-free state. There should be a single window for all state assisted schemes for disabled persons and a helpline. The government could also provide lifetime medical and accident insurance and we also need a system to register children born with disability," said Mishra. He has also suggested that there be sports facility for them while schools should have special arrangements and specially trained teachers to teach children with disabilities. -- Avinash Shahi Doctoral student at Centre for Law and Governance JNU Register at the dedicated AccessIndia list for discussing accessibility of mobile phones / Tabs on: http://mail.accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/mobile.accessindia_accessindia.org.in Search for old postings at: http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/ To unsubscribe send a message to accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in with the subject unsubscribe. To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please visit the list home page at http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in Disclaimer: 1. Contents of the mails, factual, or otherwise, reflect the thinking of the person sending the mail and AI in no way relates itself to its veracity; 2. AI cannot be held liable for any commission/omission based on the mails sent through this mailing list..
