Disabled to march in Delhi for their rights

NEW DELHI - Some will be on their wheelchairs, others will be led by their friends or supported by their crutches. On Dec 3 nearly 5,000 disabled people are expected to march in the capital in support of their right to better facilities including a separate ministry for the community.

Dec 3 is the International Day of Persons With Disabilities.

Javed Abidi, chairperson of the National Centre for Promotion of Employment of Disabled People (NCPEDP) said: “We have been demanding for a separate ministry for the disabled population for long now. The issue of disability is a part of the social justice and empowerment ministry at the moment but is hardly on the radar of the minister”.

“While the census of 2011 will draw up a clearer number, the estimated number of disabled people in the country is about 70 million, or six-seven percent of India’s population which is a big number. There is a lack of political will in taking up the issues of the disabled population and therefore a separate ministry is a must,” Abidi told IANS.

The marchers will also demand speedier action on the new disability law to replace the “archaic” one and whose draft has been in the making for a almost a year now, he added.