WILL POWER, NOT WHEEL POWER-THE WAY OUT FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES
Badal Tah,Odishabarta
Rayagada,January 31: Will power, not wheel power-the way out for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) the unanimous mantra by differently abled during district level SAKHYAM workshop.
Inaugurating a district level workshop of Dibyangs jointly organised by Dibyang Seva Kendra and Zilla Bikalang Mancha at Ashok Kalyan Mandap in Rayagada, District Collector Sri Promod Kumar Behera streesed upon the confidence level the PwDs must have in dealing their own situation. “They must feel that they are not alone- the family, community and the state are with them. There are several govt schemes which need to be availed. I appreciate the effort of SAKHYAM and will facilitate similar kind of facilitation centres at block levels. All able bodied persons must be associates of the PwDs”, said Behera.
While Sri Laxman Palei Patra recited the Sakhyam welcome song, Sri Rama Chandra Sahu, State Secretary Sakhyam, welcomed and introduced the guests on dais and explained the objectives of the workshop and several activities Sakhyam, a national level organisation working only for PwDs, is taking up in various states.
Chief District Medical Officer Dr Artabandhu Nayak, who shared the dais as guest of honour, the nodal officer, in issuing disability certificates, told about the simple process of availaing those documents. The District Headquarters Hospital(DHH) has been most Dibyang friendly with advanced lifts, ramps, wheel chairs, wheel stretchers, etc after modernisation of the DHH. Special care is being provided to the PwDs. As the health deptt is coming under 5T now, the institutions dealing with health from ANM centres to Additional PHCs, PHCs, CHCs, SDH to DDH levels have become extremely sensitive in addressing the needs of PwDs.
Joining as Guest of Honour, Sri Saya Narayan Gantayat, a noted laureate of the district and a Dibyang himself, told,”The human body of everybody has several miseries due to different kind of diseases and disabilities; but the soul is always joyful & it overpowers the bodily diseases, deformities and pain. So basically it is the “Will Power” and not the “Wheel Power”, which will strengthen the ability of man. We, as PwDs, don’t need anybody’s sympathy, but empathy.” According to Sri Nirmal Sahu, Asstt Collector, Guest of Honour on the ocassion, also a dibyang himself, said,” Being in Govt, I also had to fight for my promotion in spite of clearing the departmental examination. So, the PwDs need to be bold to access the facilities, which are not that easy to avail. Facilitation centres like Sakhyam or Dibyang Seba Kendra may chip in when a PwD is going through a road block; but he himself must initiate and clears the initial road blocks.”
Dr.Uma Devi, the National Executive Member of SAKHYAM, a mother of a deaf & dumb child, who shared the dais as resouce person, opined that PwDs need community rehabilitation. She shared her own experience of bringing up her own son from a rudimentary stage since birth to a stage now where he was studying in India’s best designing college called NID. Hope, not harassment is the key to move forward. Self help is the best and others’ help may be considered as bonus.
Hailing from Sambalpur, Sri Harekrushna Bisi, a dibyang himself & State Joint Secretary of SAKHYAM, shared his own experience of being an entreapreneur and employing more than ten persons in his workshop dealing with electronic gadgets repair like mobile, TV, etc.
Sri Kumuda Samantaray, Secretary of Senior Citizens’ Association was anguished over taunting the dibyangs by their deformities and suggested to open Dibyang Cell at each police station of the district and issue ID cards to all dibyangs by police. Senior doctors namely Dr.K Bhaskar rao, Ex-CDMO and Dr.Tripathy, Sr.Paedetrician, Sri Sashi Bhusan Hota, Diagnostic Health Expert deliberated on various technical aspects and 22 types of Dibyangs. Sri Adipati Kahnar, District Social Security Officer(DSSO) clarified several questions of the dibyangs through an interactive mode and explained about Bhima Bhoi Samyarth Sibir at Panchayat level.
Sri Rakesh Himirika, President of Zilla Bikalanga Manch, a totally blind person presided over the workshop. Sri Badal Kumar Tah moderated the whole workshop and on a serious note, emphasised on the role of local corporate like IMFA, Utkal alumina, JK Papers & VEDANTA in promoting the cause of Dibyangs. Sri Ajay Rath, Sri Gopinath Gouda, Sri Rabindra Patakhandal, Sri Khyamasagar Das helped organising this mega event where more than 160 PwDs participated and were felicitated. Dibyang Mitras namely Kumari Prasanti Huika, Kumari Laxmi Kandagari, Kumari Laxmi Gouda, Sri Gopinath Kandagari, Sri Satya Narayan Pratika, Sri R S Panda, Sri Mali Bhai made all logistic arrangements. Sri Bijaya Mishra, President, SAKHYAM-Rayagada Unit extended vote of thanks to all.
