Dharwad to get disabled rehabilitation centre

DHARWAD: The physically-challenged in Dharwad have a reason to cheer. The Union government is planning to set up a Deen Dayal Upadhyay Rehabilitation Center (DDRUC), a national sports complex and hostels for them in the district, said Thaawar Chand Ghelot, Union minister for social justice and empowerment.
Speaking at the inauguration of an aids and assistive devices distribution programme to the disabled at Kala Bhavan in Dharwad on Tuesday, he said, "Deen Dayal Upadhyay Rehabilitation Centers will be opened in all districts.The rehabilitation centre will train the disabled in various skills. The participants in such skill development programmes will get a stipend of Rs 2,000 per month. The government will also distribute over two lakh assistive devices in a year among them through the centre. Our endeavour is to make the physically challenged valuable assets of the country."
"Special children have a lot of talents and given a chance they can bring laurels to the country. To encourage them to take up sports, the Union government will open national sports complexes. If the district administration is ready to allot 10 acres, such a centre can be opened in Dharwad," the minister said.
Ghelot said that the government is planning to increase the reservation for the disabled in central government jobs from 3% to 5%. "The state government should also follow the suit," he added.
Lava Varma, secretary of the social justice and empowerment ministry, said the government will set up a National Commission for Physically Challenged. "There are about 2.5 crore physically-challenged people in the country and our aim is to empower them socially and financially," Varma added.
MP Pralhad Joshi said that assistive devices worth Rs 1.03 will be distributed among 1,004 people in the district.
At the event 26 motorised tricycle, smart sticks, tablets and wheelchairs were distributed.
Motorised tricycles are battery-operated and pollution-free. The beneficiary has to charge the battery for four hours and it will run 50 km at a speed of 30 km per hour.