I got them enrolled for social welfare, through a tiresome procedure no less, but so far only 25 % have been covered under Integrated Social Security Scheme, which reflects how serious the government is to help the downtrodden despite devising several policies to uplift them. The experience of several visits to TSWO, DSWO, DC ' s office, director ' s office and even to the chief minister ' s Grievance Redressal Cell is upsetting to say the least. Poor beneficiaries from far flung areas are made to suffer for 4 to 5 years for a paltry Rs 200 to 400 a month and even when the assistance is provided it is not on a regular basis even though the Supreme Court has ordered that it be provided before the 7th of every month.
In recent years, I have focused on rehabilitation of disabled persons and identified more than 100 people, including 61 children, who need support. I got them registered for social welfare but that, as I have come to realise, won ' t minimise their problems. Instead, we must empower them with dignity and honor by focusing on their health issues, social acceptance, education, employment, accessibility and such. Detailed analysis of the identified persons revealed that congenital disabilities are much higher than acquired, 62 % to 38 %. Besides, 41 % are severe MRCP, 34 % locomotors, 19 % visually impaired and 6 % hearing and auditory disabled.