Living life with any kind of disability in India is not easy. It is like getting up and fighting battles daily. The reason is, there are not enough facilities for them. Right from home to school, there are not enough modern facilities to make their lives easy. But, in West Bengal’s Alipurduar district, a scheme started by 2011 batch IAS officer Surendra Kumar Meena is changing the scenario.
The scheme, ‘Saksham Dooars’, is not only providing aids to disabled persons to make their lives easier and accessible, but also developing infrastructure in the special schools and hostels, while providing them with modern equipment.
Overall, this scheme aims at providing equality to all people of the district with an inclusive administration and humane touch. The administration also provides disabled certificate at the doorsteps with a monthly stipend. Recently, the administration provided ‘Annie Devices’ to aid visually-impaired students in a blind school. More than 3000 disabled persons were provided with equipments like wheel chair, hearing aids, etc., and 300 plus students were provided with modern equipments for their studies.
In an exclusive conversation with Indian Masterminds, District Magistrate & Collector of Alipurduar, Mr. Surendra Kumar Meena explained about this scheme and how it is helping people with special needs.
SAKSHAM DOOARS
Collector Meena started this scheme almost a year back. Under it, the administration has formed a separate cell and a control room for disabled persons. Anyone can approach them and the administration helps then in every possible manner. Crores of rupees are being spent on their well-being with the help of CSR funds, NGOs and money from other schemes.
Mr. Meena said, “Saksham Dooars is for holistic improvement of quality of life of Persons with Disabilities and Children with Special Needs. We started this scheme to make the lives of disabled persons and children with special needs accessible, and for their overall improvement. Similarly, development of infrastructure of special schools, teaching with the help of modern scientific aids and equipments are the main goals of this scheme with inclusive administration and humane touch.”
There are four main components of this scheme – to help disabled people with equipment, Infrastructure development, making special schools modern, and filling other critical gaps like sudden help.
ANNIE DEVICE
Children with special needs studying in schools are the main focus of this scheme. The administration has renovated and equipped the schools with modern facilities. Smart classrooms have been made with community halls. And, modern scientific gadgets are being provided.
Recently, Subodh Sen Smriti Drishti Heen Vidyalaya, a school for the blind in the district, became the third school in the state to have the facility of ‘Annie Devices’ for blind students. The school has been given four Annie devices. The district administration bore the entire cost of Rs 4 lakhs.
Annie machine is a great achievement in the world of education for the visually impaired. After the introduction of this device, the students are now able to study with modern machines.
Annie is a machine that includes audio system along with braille script. Visually impaired students generally read and write in braille script. But in Annie, audio has been added to it, so that anyone who writes something can hear the voice as well. With this, students can learn very complex things easily.
OTHER HELP
The administration aspires to bring joy and hope to all disabled persons in the district. They are providing disabled certificate at doorsteps. If any disabled person approaches the disabled cell of the district, the official will go to them, pick them up and take them to the hospital for medical examination. After that, the certificate will be delivered at their doorstep.
“We are providing such facility for them to give it a humane touch. So that they don’t feel isolated from society,” Mr. Meena said.
Apart from this, under the ‘Manabik Pension scheme’ of the state government, disabled persons will be provided a Rs. 1000 stipend per month for life.
At the same time, other critical gaps are also being filled, ensuring that no disabled person goes back without getting his need met.
Giving an example, Mr. Meena said, “Recently, we received a call from a disabled sports person. He was going to play a tournament. We provided him all the facilities, including transportation cost. However, we are not selective in helping. We provide help to all disabled people who come to us for any kind of help.”
"We rise to great heights by a winding staircase of small steps"#Teaching with the help of modern scientific aids & gadgets (Annie Device) pic.twitter.com/hOYgurp9KQ
— Surendra Kumar Meena , IAS (@iSurendraMeena) August 3, 2023
