Telangana To Expand Disability Welfare Measures

Announcing the measures during the 146th birth anniversary celebrations of Helen Keller in Hyderabad, Lakshman Kumar said persons with disabilities must be treated as equal partners in the State’s progress rather than merely as welfare beneficiaries.

Marriage assistance has been doubled from ₹1 lakh to ₹2 lakh. Scooters, electric mobility vehicles and assistive devices have been distributed to nearly 2,000 beneficiaries across all 33 districts in the past two‑and‑a‑half years. Teachers in special schools were receiving salaries on time, he said, while persons with disabilities were being given priority under the Indiramma Housing Scheme and other welfare programmes. GO 34 allows government employees with disabilities to seek transfers to places of their choice.

“I stand before you not merely as a minister, but as a member of your family. Your problems are my responsibility,” Lakshman Kumar said.

He recalled Keller’s life, noting how she lost her sight and hearing at 19 months, became the first deafblind person to graduate from university, and went on to work as an author, speaker and disability rights advocate. “She lived in darkness, but illuminated the lives of millions,” he said.