Hawkers create hurdles for PWDs

SHILLONG: The presence of large number of hawkers on the footpaths of Shillong is now posing hurdles and hardships not only for common people but even for persons with disability (PWDs).
Addressing a press conference here on Monday as Amway India celebrated International White Cane Day with Bethany Society, Bertha Dkhar , headmistress of the Jyoti Sroat School has asserted that footpaths are meant for pedestrians to walk and not for marketing.
Echoing similar views Carmo Noronha, Executive Director of Bethany Society said, “Now Everybody talks about Statue of Liberty but nobody talks about statue of responsibility.”
He said that everyone has the right to walk and there should be a movement in Shillong about this and even recalled that earlier Shillong used to be a place for walking.
Some PWDs with visual impairment, while sharing their views also said that they are treated badly by people and they often say when they dash against someone , ” Why don’t you sit at home or come out with somebody when you can’t see.”
Bertha Dkhar, while appreciating the traffic personnel who help, said that there should be more road crossing places in Shillong so that PWDs and even common people can walk and cross the road safely.
It was also informed that around 40-50 PWDs from Meghalaya are working in big multi-national companies in Bangalore apart from studying and one of them is studying in USA.
Meanwhile, Amway India, the country’s largest FMCG Direct Selling company celebrated International White Cane Day with 10 NGO partners for the 18th consecutive year by organising myriad initiatives.
In Shillong, Amway organised awareness workshops on the significance of White Cane day with Bethany Society. The workshop included a host of initiatives with an aim to educate normal sighted citizens about the importance of white cane as a mobility tool for the visually impaired and the predicament faced by visually impaired persons while negotiating the road.
The theme of the day was “Safety, Security, and Dignity” of persons with disability and particularly of persons with visual impairment. The programme thus comprised of road shows at three different locations in Shillong featuring musical skits. The programme started at Don Bosco Square, Laitumkhrah and ended at Police Bazar. Flyers informing all concerned about the salient aspects of disability awareness were also distributed.
Commenting on the occasion Chandra Chakraborty, Vice President, Eastern Region said, “Amway has been supporting and promoting the welfare of the visually impaired individuals since 1999.
Our experience of close to two decades of working with the visually impaired has made us realise that an individual’s ability is always stronger than his disability and physical limitations can be overcome with the right education, knowledge and guidance.
Amway India in association with a few students will also distribute flyers on Wednesday among the people driving their vehicles to create awareness about how to negotiate their vehicles when they see a person with disability on the road for the safety of one and all.
In addition, road shows are also planned in three venues in Shillong on Wednesday.