Braille atlas to give new vision to students to study maps
NEWDELHI: In a first, the Ministry of Science and Technology has come up with a comprehensive Braille atlas for nearly 50 lakh visually challenged people in the country, especially students.
National Atlas and Thematic Mapping Organisation (NATMO), Kolkata, an institute under the Ministry of Science and Technology has prepared Braille maps for West Bengal and Meghalaya in Bengali and English, respectively.
When contacted, the visually impaired educationist from Shillong, Bertha G. Dkhar, said she is waiting to see the atlas.
Dkhar, who invented the Braille code in Khasi, said the Centre had in the past sent a kind of atlas which, however, was not beneficial. “Let us see what is the new atlas,” she added.
The atlas has 20 maps on different themes like physical, socio-economic, river system, crops pattern, natural vegetation, cultural, metropolitan areas, roads and railways and crops. Developed in Hindi and English by NATMO, the Braille atlas has been made using indigenously developed silk-screen painting technology.
“This is for the first time that a comprehensive atlas has been prepared for physically challenged with such minute details,” Director of NATMO Tapati Banerjee said. The maps are well embossed with simple lines and point symbols to help users realise the location. The area coverage is easily distinguishable in terms of shapes and textures. Each atlas costs nearly Rs 600.
“But we intend to give a couple of free copies to institutes teaching visually impaired students,” Union Minister for Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan said. Aniruddha Bhattacharya, scientific officer with NATMO, and Amitava Chakraborty and Devnath Sengupta, research officers, played a key role in preparing the atlas. Bhattarcharya passed away last month.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi awarded NATMO in this year’s Indian Science Congress held at Tirupati for its initiative.
“This atlas is way better than the maps we currently use. It is very reader friendly for visually impaired students,” said Amit Sharma, a geography teacher with the National Institute for the Visually Handicapped (NIVH), Dehradun. Sharma, however, pointed out that there are some minor drawbacks in the maps, which have been conveyed to NATMO. Saurabh Prasad (15), a Class X student at NIVH, said borders of the states need to be clearer, but overall he is happy.
Though bulky and measuring a little more than the A3 size, NATMO is also working to lessen the size. “The development of atlas will be an ongoing process,” Vardhan said.
NATMO has also been asked by the governments of Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Gujarat to come up with state maps in English and their regional languages. The concept of Braille maps took root in the country in 1900s and the first such map was made in 1997. (PTI) (With inputs from Our Reporter)