GUWAHATI, Oct 6 - Union Minister of State (independent charge), Ministry of Labour and Employment, Santosh Kumar Gangwar inaugurated the disabled-friendly building of the National Career Service Centre for Differently Abled (NCSC-DA) here today. The Minister said that the Central government is determined to give equal opportunities to differently abled persons to march ahead along with the others.
�From coining the term �Divyang� for persons living with disability to linking them with livelihood opportunities, the present government has been dealing with disability as a priority sector,� he added.
Constructed at a cost of Rs 10.40 crore, the barrier-free building inaugurated today has facilities like disabled-friendly ramps, railings, dormitories and toilets. The land for the building was provided by the Government of Assam and is one among eight buildings constructed so far for National Career Service Centres for Differently Abled.
The State will soon have an Industrial Training Institute (ITI) dedicated to the differently abled in Dibrugarh. The Government of Assam has sanctioned Rs 6 crore for creating the infrastructure and enrolling 60 students in the initial period. Informing this to the gathering, Chandra Mohan Patowary, Minister for Skill, Employment and Entrepreneurship Development, said that initially the candidates would receive training in hospitality, sewing and mechanical segments, and gradually more streams would be incorporated. �The facility will have separate hostels for differently abled girls and boys. More funds will be given to the institute in the days to come,� he added.
The Minister further stated that apart from the plans to recruit differently abled persons to the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC), the government is further exploring the possibilities of skill development among the persons with disabilities along with others.
M Sathiyavathy, Secretary of Labour and Employment, Government of India, gave an account of the activities taken up by the ministry for the benefit of the differently abled people and others.
�A national information, communication, technology-based portal has been developed primarily to facilitate registration of job seekers, job providers, skill providers, career counsellors, etc., by connecting the opportunities with the aspirations of youth. Till date 3.92 crore job seekers have been registered with the portal with more than 15 lakh employers on board,� she added.
Under the ADIP scheme of the Artificial Limb Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO), aids and appliances were distributed to persons with disabilities including persons with locomotors disability, visually challenged and hearing impaired.
Pallab Lochan Das, State Minister of Labour and Employment (independent charge), also spoke on the occasion.