In an initiative to equip persons with disabilities to get employment opportunities, the UT Administration has launched a food production course at Aasha Kiran in Sector 46 here.
The Chandigarh Child and Women Development Corporation, a unit of UT Department of Social Welfare in association with the Ambedkar Institute of Hotel Management, Sector 42 launched the food production course for persons with disabilities on Tuesday.
The Food Production Training Centre was inaugurated by UT Home Secretary Anil Kumar. Speaking on the occasion, he told the students that this is one of the most vibrant and upcoming fields for employment not only in India but also in foreign countries. He told the students that currently in this program they will be providing the basics of food production but very shortly an advanced program for the same will be started.
The UT Director Social Welfare Rajesh Jogpal informed that the duration of the basic course in food production would be for a period of two months and a stipend of Rs 2,000 would be provided by the Department. The first batch of 20 speech and hearing impaired students have started from Tuesday at Aasha Kiran.
Ambedkar Institute of Hotel Management would be the technical partner for the programme who will provide the faculty for the course. The instructor will be assisted by the sign language training instructor of the corporation at Aasha Kiran for communicating with the students for the instructions.
After the launching of the programme, UT Home Secretary visited and interacted with the staff and students of Aasha Kiran who were enrolled for other vocational and skill training programs being offered at the Center. He also visited the music unit, the cutting and tailoring section, the beauty culture section, the computer and call centre training facility. later, he visited the physiotherapy electrotherapy unit and inspected the equipment that is currently available.
Kumar was informed that the audiology and speech therapy unit was under process and a sound proof room was being established and an audiologist will be recruited soon to provide audiometry and speech therapy services at the Asha Kiran. He then visited the Braille Training Centre and library that is being managed by the National Association for the Blind.
He also inspected the Empowerment Centre that is also housed at Aasha Kiran and asked about the present infrastructure and the status of orders being received at the Centre. Kumar was informed that the department aims to provide all services and covering all persons with disability under one roof at Aasha Kiran.