Guwahati, April 7: Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that ‘specially-abled children’ are a key component of the state’s human resources with several initiatives taken by the government for their empowerment.
Speaking at a national health fest for divyang children and athletes at the Sarusajai Stadium here, Sarma said the state government under the Deendayal Divyang Pension Scheme has been paying monthly Rs 1000 to more than one lakh beneficiaries.
Under the Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme, several divyang people have been benefitted in the state.
Moreover, specially-abled people have been given more than 1.20 lakh unique disability identity (UDID) cards in the state.
Scholarships have also been awarded to the specially-abled students.
The chief minister also requested the parents of specially-abled children below six years of age with hearing difficulty to avail the benefits of the state government’s special scheme, ‘Sneha Sparsha,’ to get free cochlear implants for their kids to lead a normal life.
Organised by Special Olympic Bharat, social welfare and health and family welfare departments, the National Health Fest is an effort to provide consultations on dental health and other health parameters of the people with intellectual disability.
The event was organised in 75 cities across the country with the projected participation of more than 75,000 children and athletes with intellectual disability.
In Assam, the event, organised in Guwahati and Jorhat, also provided health consultations and vaccines for the COVID 19 pandemic to the specially-abled children.
Synchronising with the occasion, the chief minister also presented mementoes to some specially abled athletes for their good show in international events.
