Mohammed Sajid & Tarun Kartick
Port Blair, Sep 18: Though Govt. of India is consistently working hard to improve the lives of specially-abled persons in the country but in Andaman and Nicobar Islands things are becoming too difficult for them.
Andaman and Nicobar Administration in the year 2009 had conducted a meeting with the agenda to provide Govt. Jobs to the disabled (differently able) persons in these Islands. It was decided in the meeting that the jobs will be provided by taking out vacancies in the departments and keeping it reserved for the specially-abled persons under the 3% reservation that they already have under Government of India’s guidelines.
But now these specially-abled persons question that what is the need of such reservations when most of the Government Departments are not interested in filling these posts.
The Social Welfare Department of these Islands is the nodal agency which deals with the matter pertaining to the disabled people residing in these Islands and everybody knows how the said department functions. It has been learnt that most of the departments of the Administration has not followed the agenda adopted by the meeting and still there are several specially-abled persons who are jobless and are struggling to run their families and to support their living.
Andaman Sheekha contacted Mr. S.K Chug, Director of Social Welfare to know why the agenda of the meeting was not followed. Mr. Chug informed Andaman Sheekha that he has joined the Social Welfare Board just a few months back and he is not aware of the meeting.
He further assured that he will send reminder letters to all departments soon and will take all necessary action to provide jobs to specially-abled persons.
He further informed that there are there is reservation of 3% in Govt. Jobs for the specially-abled persons and out of which 1% is for the blind, 1% is for Orthopedic and 1% for the hearing-impaired.
He also added that Forest, Electricity and Marine Department have already recruited specially abled persons under the reserved quota and about 150 disabled people have got job under these vacancies created.
He mentioned that other departments like Municipal, DHS, Education etc. have not yet recruited specially-abled persons under the reservation and no response until now has been received from the departments.
For specially-abled persons, life is very difficult and a government job is a guarantee for a respectable life. Unemployed people, who have disabilities, are running from pillar to posts to get these vacant posts filled up but many departments seems to have completely forgotten about this 3% job reservation. In Andaman & Nicobar Islands it has become a tradition to move files only after intervention of Lt. Governor. Andaman Sheekha just hopes that that happens soon.
