GUWAHATI, March 31 - The Assam Association of the Deaf has lambasted the BJP-led government for turning a blind eye to the problems of the differently abled in the State.
Claiming that no funds were earmarked by the government in the 2018-19 Budget for the welfare of the differently abled, the Association�s general secretary Tapan Kumar Sarma said job promises to the differently abled too has remained a lip service.
�We have held several rounds of meetings with various government representatives, including the Chief Secretary, regarding employment for the blind. But the meetings are yet to bear any fruit. During a meeting with Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu at Raj Bhavan here in December, the government has assured that jobs reserved for the blind in various government departments would be filled soon. However, the matter later was put on the backburner,� Sarma said.
Many differently abled persons are also yet to get the assistance of Rs 5,000 announced under the Deen Dayal Scheme, he alleged, adding that the two blind colleges run by the Association in the State have not received a single penny from the government in the last two years and as such the teachers have not been getting their salaries for months.
�The Social Welfare Minister has admitted in the Assembly that his department was unable to spend Rs 284.70 crore during the financial year 2017-18. If these funds were spent for the development of the differently abled, the section would have benefited a lot,� Sarma added.
