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Drive for online info on COVID for PwDs

By MAMATA MISHRA

GUWAHATI, May 15 - At a time when access to information is most crucial to fight and survive the crisis triggered by COVID-19, the Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Assam has launched a drive to develop online resources for differently able persons.

With a multi-pronged approach, the Office of the Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities has started its own YouTube channel for providing COVID-19-related information, notifications and standard operating procedures (SOPs) in sign language.

Information on the pandemic is also being printed in Braille for visually challenged persons.

It is also supporting the Guwahati Blind School and the BDS Government School for Hearing Impairment in creating their audio lessons and sign language-based video lessons for their students, so that academic activities are resumed amid the lockdown.

The academic content created by the teachers of both the schools is also being uploaded on two separate YouTube channels for the benefit of other such students across the State.

Kausar Hilaly, State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities told The Assam Tribune that the initiative launched with minimum available resources, is an attempt to make information accessible to the target group.

�The biggest challenge for us was to make the State�s COVID response disability-inclusive. We are regularly creating video resources on COVID in sign language and uploading them on our official YouTube channel titled �Commissioner for persons with disability, Assam�. It will be a resource centre for information of various kinds for the differently able persons. At present, we have uploaded videos of the standard operating procedure, do�s and don�ts during COVID situation, health department guidelines, lockdown instructions, etc,� he said.

�Moreover, to address the education-related issues, we are creating a resource library separately for the visually challenged and the hearing impaired. All teachers have been asked to make video and audio lessons for online classes. The lessons will be a permanent resource at our hands that can be accessed any time from any place. We plan to continue this exercise in future as well,� Hilaly said.

Students can access the online content on two channels, Guwahati Blind High School� and �BDS Govt School for HI Guwahati Official�.

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