Thank you that I am not working with any NGO else seeing all such inequities I would have lost my patience. I heartily and respectfully salute all the lawyers and activists who have patiently kept their fight on - though they see this discrimination directly! Really it requires a tremendous amount of patience to fight against the injustice without crossing the barriers imposed by the system. Maybe, I am a quick tempered person, but so much discrimination signals that we must carry out a revolt. Warm regards, Shadab
On 3/8/11, Pankaj Kwatra <[email protected]> wrote: > Hello All, > > Lets hope so as government is hovering around 9 per cent growth and is > focused on stimulus to economy ,probably we should come back after few > years or contact Mr. Rahul Gandhi. > > Regards, > > Pankaj Kwatra > > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Srinivasu > Chakravarthula > Sent: Tuesday, March 08, 2011 2:48 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [AI] Fwd: CONVENOR, DISABLED RIGHTS GROUP, JAVED ABIDI'S > REACTION TO THE UNION BUDGET AND AN URGENT APPEAL TO THE HON'BLE PRIME > MINISTER > > Dear Access Indians, > Just thought of sharing. Hope there will be a good response from the > Government. > > Thanks, > -Srinivasu > > ---------- Forwarded message ---------- > From: Secretariat - NCPEDP <[email protected]> > Date: Tue, Mar 8, 2011 at 12:25 PM > Subject: CONVENOR, DISABLED RIGHTS GROUP, JAVED ABIDI'S REACTION TO THE > UNION BUDGET AND AN URGENT APPEAL TO THE HON'BLE PRIME MINISTER > To: [email protected] > > > Dear Srinivasu, > > Reference your E-mail requesting a copy of the letter sent by Mr. Abidi > to > the Prime Minister. Please find below the same in an E-mail format. Do > let > me know, if this is okay. > > Best, > > Dorodi > > National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP) > A -77, South Extension Part II > New Delhi - 110 049, India > Tel.: 91-11-26265647 / 26265648 > Telefax:011-26265649 > Websites: www.ncpedp.org and www.dnis.org > > > > > *URGENT ATTENTION: HON'BLE PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA, DR. MANMOHAN SINGH > * > > *Respected Sir,* > ** > > *The Union Budget was a huge disappointment for us, the 70 million > disabled > citizens of India.* And for not one but several reasons: > > > > *1: Year 2011-2012 will be the last year of the current XIth Five Year > Plan. > We had sincerely hoped that funds would be earmarked for the National > Institute of Universal Design.* In the last Budget, funds were > sanctioned > for the Sign Language Research and Training Centre but this had got left > out. We were told that this was due to the lack of resources and we were > promised that "next year" and before the XIth Plan runs out, this > Institute > will also be sanctioned. > > > > The Disability Act has been there for the last 15 years but the less > said > about accessibility the better. 98% of the constructions (post 1995) are > built in an inaccessible manner. Even the 2% which are supposed to be > accessible are not so due to the lack of awareness and expertise. > > > > When I had served on the Steering Committee of the Planning Commission > to > draft the disability component of the XIth Five Year Plan, we had > envisioned > this Institute with the hope that once set up, it would serve as a > centre of > excellence on the issue of accessibility and universal design. Ideally, > it > should have been sanctioned in the very first year itself but it was > not! We > have followed up on this year after year after year with the PMO as well > as > the Urban Development Ministry but with no fruitful outcome. > > > > *The setting up of the National Institute of Universal Design is a > solemn > promise made to the disabled people of India by the Planning Commission > under your Chairership. Sir, please ensure that it is fulfilled this > year.* > > > > *2: The National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral > Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disabilities was set up in 1999. > By > and large, it has failed in its mandate. Pre 1999, parents of children > with > severe disabilities were asking "what will happen to our children after > us?". A dozen years have gone by, but the question remains unresolved. > Poor > leadership apart, one major reason for nothing substantial to have > happened > is the lack of resources.* > > > > *The National Trust was set up with a Corpus of 100 crores. Believe it > or > not, Sir, 12 years have gone by but the Corpus stands as it is. It seems > that in the eye of your Government, especially MSJE, this particular > Institution is immune to inflation!* The Trust operates its various > schemes > from the interest that it earns from its Corpus, say about Rs. 8-9 or > maximum Rs. 10 crores per annum. That was the budget in 1999-2000 when > it > was set up. That remains its budget even over a decade later in > 2010-2011 > and now, thanks to Hon'ble Finance Minister's oversight, it will remain > the > same this F.Y. also. > > > > *Sir, Hon'ble Finance Minister is quite fond of the figure 300 and he > admitted so much during the Budget speech. I request you, Sir, to please > impress upon him to sanction an additional Rs. 300 crores during this > F.Y. > to the Corpus of the National Trust. Now, it is all the more necessary > because under the new scheme of things, the mandate of the Trust is > going to > be expanded to include several other disabilities which also have High > Support Needs.* > > > > An additional Rs. 300 crores would do wonders to this organisation meant > for > the most marginalised and the most severely disabled citizens of India. > > > > *3: Hon'ble Finance Minister has been very generous in taking up the > Income > Tax exemption limit for 'Very Senior Citizens'.* It is a good step > because > with advancing age, older people do need that extra care and protection. > Their expenses on medical care, the need for an attendant, etc. go up. > Therefore, if they are given some relief from taxation, they can use > that > extra money to fund their extra needs that develop due to the old/very > old > age. > > > > *Sir, I wish the Hon'ble Finance Minister would have not forgotten about > the > needs of people with disabilities, particularly people with severe > disabilities.* > > > > *It would not require a very long argument to prove that the needs of a > disabled person (especially those 80% and above) are any day greater, > much > greater than a say 80 or 85 year old senior citizen. The need for full > time > carers, the astronomical amounts spent on medicines and rehabilitation.* > > > > *We request you, Sir, to please ask the Hon'ble Finance Minister to be > empathetic to the cause of disabled people also and to extend the same > tax > exemption (of Income upto Rs. 5 lakh) to people with disabilities also. > And > needless to say, the same concession should also be available to the > parents > of a dependent disabled child or disabled person, especially in the case > of > parents of children/people with psychosocial and intellectual and > developmental disabilities.* > > > > *4: The 5% service tax on health care has already drawn adverse reaction > from across sections of Civil Society.* I was quite impressed / touched > that > even those who are in the health care business have spoken out and even > published advertisements in newspapers to oppose the tax. They had/have > no > reason to worry because obviously the additional 5% burden will get > passed > on to the patients and their families. Their business will continue to > flourish. > > > > *If there is one section of the society who will be the most impacted, > it > would be people with disabilities.* Again, it would not require a very > long > argument to establish that most disabled people have serious health care > needs. At most times, those needs are not fulfilled within the existing > public health system and therefore, per force, a disabled person has to > go > to a doctor or a rehab professional at one of those "air conditioned" > hospitals or clinics. > > > > Sir, I can share with you my own personal experience. As you know I am > severely disabled and confined to a wheelchair. I have serious health > needs > and on an average, I have to go and meet one or the other doctor almost > every month or two. I can tell you honestly that when one goes to see a > doctor, it is not out of any choice (as if one is going to a movie > theatre > or a shopping mall!) but out of compulsion. It is not some kind of a > luxurious, joyful expedition that needs to be punished or penalised by > way > of an additional Tax! On the contrary, it is a worrisome sometimes > painful > experience, already heavy on the pocket and certainly, it should not be > aggravated further by adding that 5% burden. > > > > Sir, is it not a fact that our public health system is in bad shape and > majority of good/reputed doctors are now in the private sphere, > operating > out of those "air conditioned" hospitals. So, in my case, if Dr. Anoop > Mishra or Dr. Ravi Bhatia or Dr. Rakesh Tandon (all earlier with AIIMS, > just > to illustrate my point) are now with Fortis, Apollo and Max Saket > respectively, what choice do I as an average Indian citizen have? If I > still > want to be under their care, why should I be punished with an extra 5% > Service Tax?? > > > > That way, even the Indian Spinal Injuries Centre (ISIC) the *only* > hospital > in India that excels in the area of spinal cord injuries is an air > conditioned facility! So that too, where all the poor people go in the > case > of traumatic accidents from all across India, will now come under the 5% > tax > burden. > > > > *Sir, I appeal to you to please convince the Hon'ble Finance Minister to > NOT > levy this extra tax on health care and to please withdraw/drop this > proposal > from the Union Budget of 2011-2012.* > > > > Thanking you and with the highest regards, > > > > *Javed Abidi* > > *Convenor, Disabled Rights Group (DRG)* > > *7.3.2011* > > > > > > > > > > > -- > Best regards, > > Srinivasu Chakravarthula > Mobile: +91 990 081 0881 > Website: http://www.srinivasu.org | http://www.learnaccessibility.org > Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/VasuTweets > To unsubscribe send a message to > [email protected] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, > please visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.i > n > > > To unsubscribe send a message to > [email protected] > with the subject unsubscribe. > > To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please > visit the list home page at > http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in > > -- Easy tips for improving English at shadablucknow.blogspot.com My contributions to the press http://shadablucknow.blogspot.com/2008/10/my-contributions-to-press.html#links Shadab Husain interviews Danny Bloom shdb101.blogspot.com Many posts on one page http://shadablucknow.blogspot.com/search?updated-min=2008-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&updated-max=2009-01-01T00%3A00%3A00-08%3A00&max-results=30 To unsubscribe send a message to [email protected] with the subject unsubscribe. 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