Visually challenged seek hike in monthly assistance
The Hindu
‘Include us in the list of severely-affected differently abled persons’
Members of Visually Challenged Rehabilitation and Welfare Association staged a protest, pressing for a charter of demands, in front of the Collectorate here on Monday.
Their demands included inclusion of the visually challenged in the list of severely-affected differently abled persons and an increase in monthly welfare assistance provided by the State government. “The monthly welfare assistance given for visually challenged is ₹1,000, but the assistance for severely-affected differently abled persons alone was recently hiked to ₹2,000 from ₹1,500, which is unfair,” said P. Kumar, president of the Association.
They urged the government to withdraw the order cancelling welfare assistance to the visually impaired persons who were eligible to avail themselves of two LPG cylinders.
In a petition submitted to Collector S. Aneesh Sekhar, they said they were not properly responded to at police stations. They pointed out that police personnel showed a lethargic attitude towards them and did not take swift action on their complaints.
Association secretary O. Muthukrishnan and treasurer S. Govindarajan were present.