Khammam: Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar distributes physical aids, assistive devices to PwDs

Khammam: Transport Minister Puvvada Ajay Kumar on Saturday distributed physical aids and assistive devices worth Rs 43.97 lakhs to persons with disabilities (PwDs). 39 persons were given retro-fitted vehicles and 17 persons were given battery operated wheelchairs free of cost. Speaking on the occasion, Ajay Kumar informed that the government has provided the vehicles to help PwDs to attend to their daily needs.

He added that steps would be taken to provide electric vehicles to PwDs. Unlike in other States in the country, around five lakh PwDs across Telangana were getting Rs 3,016 monthly as Aasara pension, he said.

PwDs were given priority in allotting double bedroom houses with five per cent reservation and added that houses were also being allotted to them in open category on the ground floor. There were around 24, 000 persons with disabilities in the district, of whom over 6000 persons live in Khammam city. Committed efforts were being made to extend benefits of all government welfare schemes to them, he noted.

Telangana Vikalangula Cooperative Corporation Chairman, K Vasudeva Reddy said the government was spending around Rs 150 crore per month on pensions for PwDs. In the past, beneficiaries used to bear 70 per cent of the cost of the vehicles given to them but Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao decided to give the vehicles free of cost. The government would soon issue job notifications and the corporation would provide free coaching to them to appear for job tests. Rs 5 crore would be released towards subsidised loans, he added.