Specially-abled persons demand implementing Disability Act 2016, stage protest in Baramulla

Scores of Members of the J&K Ittehad Handicapped Welfare Association on Friday staged a protest at Kriyapa Park in north Kashmir’s Baramulla district, demanding effective implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016 in Jammu and Kashmir.

The protesting members said that if a government cannot provide the rights to disabled persons under their own disability act 2016, by delaying its implementation then they don’t have the right to claim to represent the aspirations of people.

Raising slogans against what they termed as official “apathy” towards persons with disabilities, the protesters said that despite the enactment of the Disability Act nearly a decade ago, many of its provisions remain confined to papers, leaving thousands of specially-abled persons struggling for basic rights and dignity.

The association members said persons with disabilities continue to face immense hardships due to inadequate implementation of welfare measures envisaged under the Act.