Regional level Divyang Conference held at Rayagada
Rayagada, : A Regional level Divyang Conference was held at Bhakurugada Horticulture Nursery under the aegis of SAKSHAM, Rayagada. The program was jointly organised by the Rayagada Bhinnakhyama Mahasangha(RBMS) and Odisha Vikalanga Mancha(OVM)-Rayagada chapter. More than 150 Dibyangs and Dibyang Mitras participated. Sub-Collector Kalyani Sanghamitra Devi was the chief guest, District Social Security Officer Simanchala Mohapatra, Sub-Divisional Social Security Officer Shrikant Panigrahi, IMFA Senior CSR & PR Manager Shakti Panigarahi were guests of honour. It is to be noted that under the supervision of Rajya Sangrakhyak, Dr. Badal kumar Tah, after several days, a regional level Dibyang conference was held where differently abled persons from different blocks of the district participated. This event was organized for Dibyangs where they discussed about how to achieve unity, self-respect in society, financial security, self-reliance, etc. Each Dibyang was felicitated with a steel tiffin box and a shawl on behalf of SAKSHAM for their achievement in the society in different fields. It was a moment to celebrate and enjoy together.
Saksham Odisha Paschim Prant Secretary Ramachandra Sahu, District Secretary Shyam Kumar Das, District Dibang Seva Kendra Palak M. Vidya Sagar were spoke on the occasion. Shankar Pradhan, Vidya Bhushan Panda, Ajay Rath, Rabindra Patkhandal, Bijay Dash, Chintu Chowdhury assisted in organising the event. President of RBMS and OVM Rakesh Himirika, Vice President Santosh Mahapatra, Secretary Jalandhar Bacheli and District Convenor of Odisha Adivasi Manch Dibakar Sabar spoke vividly about the issues faced by the persons with disabilities(PwDs). Though Hemirika and Bacheli thanked the state government for increasing the dibyang pension by Rs 500, they demanded that it should be increased to at least Rs 3000 a month because of increase in prices of all essential commodities. The body demanded to provide 35 kg of rice to every Dibyang in the government’s Antyodaya scheme. Shyam Das demanded that an elevator be installed at the District Collector’s office and a District Disability Rehabilitation Centre(DDRC) in the district immediately.
DSSO Mohapatra opined that the facilities meant for Dibyangs are very less in the context of huge numbers of the PwDs, he shared a general idea about most of the schemes by saying how the said schemes can be made accessible to all. Badal, an advocate & a senior scribe of the district, said that Dibyang does not want any alms-but rights, not mercy-but empathy and asserted that he would continue his advocacy for Dibyang’s constitutional rights in the coming days. Kalyani Sanghamitra expressed in her vibrant speech that most of the problems could be solved only by enjoying life “with” Dibyang & not just working “for” them. Shedding one’s own ego could be the stepping stone in this direction. At the end Santosh Mohapatra thanked the guests and all the participants on behalf of all the Dibyang institutions working in the district.
