Demanding special relief from the Government, disabled persons affected by cyclone Phailin in Ganjam district resorted to begging while staging an agitation here on Monday.
“We took to begging as the Government did not pay heed to our demands,” said president of Odisha Bikalanga Manch Debasish Parmanik.The disabled, including orthopaedically-handicapped, visually-impaired and speech and hearing-impaired from across the district staged the dharna.
Their demands included provision of cyclone relief to persons with disability, considering every individual as a unit and immediate rehabilitation of people severely hit by the Phailin and floods. “These are our longstanding demands, but the Government has deliberately ignored them,” said secretary of the organisation Rajendra Kumar Bisoi.
He said around 2,000 disabled persons in the district have been affected by successive natural disasters.”I did not get relief because I have no ration card,” said 20-year-old Mami Das of Nehuli in Kodala tehsil.
“The district administration has instructed Block Development Officers (BDOs) to provide relief to the disabled persons. Many have got the relief, but there is no provision to treat every individual as a unit,” said Assistant Collector (Emergency) Mahendra Panda.