Govt sops elude differently abled

Hyderabad: Thousands of people have enrolled themselves for tricycles during the campaign held by differently abled people a few months ago at Amberpet in the city. However, more than half of the applicants have not received tricycles or walking sticks as district authorities concerned have yet to give their approval.

People who filled up the application forms and gave it to the Disabled Welfare Officer are still waiting for the tricycles for the past three months. The district authorities are turning a blind eye in distributing them.

According to government rules, any differently-abled, who applies for either a tricycle or walking stick should receive it within a week. The applicant should submit Aadhaar card, differently – abled certificate and other relevant documents in the Disabled Welfare Officer’s Office.

Speaking to The Hans India here on Monday, Srinivasulu, a 35-year-old differently–abled person said, “I have applied for a tricycle three months ago and I also spoke to the District Collector. But I have not received the tricycle from the Disabled Welfare Officers yet.”

He said that whenever he tried contacting the officials on phone, the staff responded saying that the concerned authority was not available. They have been neglecting his calls since a couple of months. “I cannot walk without the walking stick and travelling by TSRTC buses is not convenient for me,” he lamented.

Disabled Welfare Officer D Sudarshan said, “I am unaware of this issue, as I was not on duty during the campaign. I will look into the issue. I even contacted the applicants and told them that tricycles will be sanctioned after scrutinising their documents.”

By: Sravanthi Sanam