Police on Monday detained over two dozen members of the J&K Handicapped Association (JKHA) when they tried to take out a protest march in Lal Chowk area here on the occasion of World Disability Day.
The JKHA members, including children, had gathered at the Mushtaq Press Enclave and tried to stage a protest march against “government apathy” when police stopped them and took dozens into custody.
Earlier, speaking to reporters, JKHA president Abdul Rasheed Bhat said that the government was not paying attention to the long-pending demands of the disabled persons.
“We have decided to observe World Disability Day as a black day because every time the government promises us that our demands will be fulfilled but then forgets everything,” he said
The protest was later joined by disabled students of Zaiba-Appa Institute of Inclusive Education Bijbehara. Carrying placards “We don’t want pension, We want education” “Give us our rights”, the students said the aim of protest was to inform the general public about the difficulties being faced by the disabled persons.
Bhat flayed the government’s non-serious approach in addressing the genuine problems of the disabled persons.
"We demand our rights be upheld and the schemes for handicapped persons be implemented without delay," he said, adding even after assurances from the government, nothing has been done.
He accused the state government of failing to implement schemes even after the funds have been released by Government of India
"There are many schemes for which the Centre has sanctioned funds, but the state government does not implement the schemes," he added.
The members of the association sat on a hunger strike in October to press for their demands, but called off the four-day strike after assurances from the government that their demands will be met.
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