Visakhapatnam: Visakhapatnam City Police Commissioner Shankhabrata Bagchi exhorted people to contribute to the development of specially-abled persons.

Flagging off the 21st edition of the Special Olympics organised by Junior Chamber of International (JCI) Vizag here on Saturday, the Police Commissioner stressed that if children get diagnosed with disabilities in childhood and provided with early treatment, they have a brighter chance to lead a better life. The CP said that in an era of advancement in medical science, it has become easier to get advice from medical experts from across the country and abroad.

The City Police Commissioner appealed to industrialists and organisations to come forward to brighten the lives of children suffering from disabilities and contribute to their wellbeing. He lauded the efforts taken by the JCI Vizag to bring out sports skills of the specially-abled persons and said that it would instill self-confidence in the participants. Speaking on the occasion, Olympics project chairman Prabhakar Botta described the event as a platform for many to showcase their skills, achieve success such as getting recognition at the national level Olympics and excelling in job opportunities. More than 900 differently-abled students from 50 schools of North Andhra districts participated in the Special Olympics. As part of the event, the athletes conducted a march-fast. Sravan Shipping Company managing director G Sambasiva Rao and City Police Commissioner received a salute from the athletes. In the Special Olympics, competitions were organised in more than 100 sports events such as running, shot put, javelin throw, and softball for differently-abled students. Expert state-level coaches provided services for the competitions and they were organised in three different categories. Medical teams from V Healthcare and Dental Hospital, Dr. Agarwal Eye Hospital provided medical services to the athletes.

JCI Vizag president N. Charishma, zone president A. Santosh, vice president V. Chaitanya, Tirumala Steel representative G. Ramji, Ayush Hospital MD Karri Swamy were present.