Guwahati, April 7: Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma today said that ‘specially abled children’ hold immense possibilities and the State government has, therefore, taken several initiatives for their empowerment considering them as an important component of state’s human resources.
Speaking at a national health fest for Divyang children and athletes on the occasion of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Dr. Sarma said that the State government under Deendayal Divyang Pension Scheme has been paying monthly Rs. 1000 to more than one lakh beneficiaries. Under Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme several divyang people have been benefited.
Moreover, especially abled people were given more than 1.20 lakh UDID cards in the state. Scholarships were given to the specially abled students.
The Chief Minister on the occasion also requested the parents of especially abled children below six years of age with hearing difficulty to avail the benefits of State government’s special scheme ‘Sneha Sparsha’ to get free cochlear implant for their kids to lead a normal life.
Dr. Sarma said, “The specially abled people are in no way weak as they are indispensable to implement the government’s objective of ‘inclusive growth’.
Organised by Special Olympic Bharat, Social Welfare Department, Health and Family Welfare Department, the National Health Fest is an effort to provide consultations on dental health and other health parameters of the people with intellectual disability.
The event has been organised in 75 cities across the country with the projected participation of more than 75 thousand children and athletes with intellectual disability. In Assam the event organised in Guwahati and Jorhat also provided health consultations and vaccines for COVID 19 pandemic to the specially abled children.
The Chief Minister also said, “I really feel happy to attend the programme which has given him an opportunity to spend his time with the pure souls who according to him hold immense potential”.
Referring to the success stories of specially abled artistes like Sudha Chandran, Rabindra Jain, mountaineer Arunima Sinha, Paralympic medal winners Sumit Antil, Avani Lekhara, Bhavina Patel etc., the Chief Minister said that the lives and achievements of these personalities are the testimonies of the indomitable power of specially abled people.
Synchronizing with the occasion, Chief Minister Dr. Sarma also presented mementoes to some specially abled athletes for their good show in some international events including Olympics.