AP Committed to Welfare of Differently-Abled Persons: Dola
He said the government had rolled out several welfare initiatives under the Indradhanassu programme announced by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu
Nellore: Marking the 217th birth anniversary of Louis Braille, Social Welfare minister Dr Dola Sribala Veeranjaneya Swamy on Sunday said the Andhra Pradesh government is firmly committed to improving the lives of differently-abled persons, drawing inspiration from Braille’s contribution to empowering the visually impaired.
The minister participated as chief guest at the state-level celebrations held at the Ongole Collectorate, where he, along with officials and public representatives, paid floral tributes to the statue of Louis Braille.
Addressing the gathering, he said the government had rolled out several welfare initiatives under the Indradhanassu programme announced by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu. These include free RTC bus travel, nomination-based representation in local bodies, subsidies on par with SC, ST, BC and minority communities, access to sports and skill development programmes, ground-floor housing allotments in TIDCO schemes, and the establishment of a special degree college for hearing-impaired students at Bapatla.
He said security pensions are being distributed at residential colleges for students with disabilities and that backlog vacancies in government departments will be filled by the end of the month. The minister also announced plans to post a visually impaired officer as assistant director in one district to strengthen grievance redressal.
The government is supplying assistive devices with Central support, encouraging para-sportspersons and taking strict action against discrimination, he said, urging eligible beneficiaries to obtain UDID cards.
Director of the department of welfare of persons with sisabilities and senior citizens B. Ravi Prakash Reddy described Louis Braille as a visionary who gave literacy and confidence to the visually impaired. Laptops were distributed to eight students and calendars released on the occasion.
