Visually-impaired block Mantralaya gate to open government’s eyes

Fed up with the government’s lackadaisical attitude and officials turning a blind eye to their pleas, over 300 visually-impaired persons blocked the main gate of Mantralaya for more than an hour on Tuesday. The protesters claimed that though the state government disburses Rs 600 per person as allowance under the Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojna (SGNY) to visually-impaired persons, a private bank appointed by the state government is sanctioning only Rs 450 each to a visually-impaired couple as allowance, instead of Rs 1,200.

Braving the heavy rains, hundreds of differently-abled people and their supporters protested outside Mantralaya, even as VVIPs were stuck in their cars for an hour. The protest was organised by Wangani town-based organisation National Foundation of Visually Impaired Persons at the Mantralaya gate.

There are more than 300 visually-disabled persons living in Wangani, around 65 km away from Mumbai in Thane district. Around 100 protesters reached CST around 2 pm by local train.

Later, they reached Mantralaya in small groups. The protesters sang bhajans and shouted slogans against the government, while the police tried to disperse them. Eventually, the police allowed the delegation to meet Mr S.B. Mohite, under secretary of social justice department, who heard their grievances. Mr Mohite said he would organise a meeting with minister of state for social justice Dilip Kamble on October 4.

According to Sambhaji Badar, president of the association, earlier, the allowance of Sanjay Gandhi Niradhar Yojana was deposited in their bank account.

“However, for the past four years, the state has appointed ICICI bank to disburse the allowance using biometric proof. It’s very hectic for us as the bank personnel comes to the village only for two or three days.”

Mr Badar that said sighted people would get their allowance with priority, while the visually impaired were treated differently.