Silent Protest

March 12: The Assam government may have turned a deaf year to the rights of the hearing impaired but undeterred they now plan to catch the eyes of policy makers as they sit on a six-day dharna.

The dharna, organised by the Assam Association of the Deaf, will be staged at Last Gate here from March 20 to 25. Members of the association, totalling around 5,000 across the state and 500 in the city, will come from different parts of the stateand protest for five hours on each of these days.

The primary demands of the association include better education and employment generation opportunities for the hearing impaired, availability of free transport facilities in buses run by the state transport department and reservation of one per cent seats in every sector for the deaf.

The association is also demanding allocation of more funds to upgrade the infrastructure of the North East College for the Hearing Impaired in the city along with introduction of a three-year degree course for students of the college in future.

The state, at present, is estimated to have over 10,000 hearing impaired individuals.

“We will be staging a dharna for five hours every day from March 20 to 25 at Last Gate to highlight our long-standing demands before the state government, which has, so far, turned a deaf ear to the plight of the hearing impaired. At present, such individuals have no access to good education facilities and employment generation opportunities in the state. The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995, guarantees one per cent seat for the disabled in every sector, but this is yet to be implemented in reality here. There are many talented hearing impaired individuals but because of a lack of opportunities, they fail to earn a livelihood,” said the association’s general secretary, Tapan Sarma.

The Association also rued over the pathetic condition of the North East College for the Hearing Impaired that was established in 2009 at the Birubari area here. The college conducts higher secondary courses for students with hearing impairment and is being run by the association.

“The state government has reduced the amount of funds allocated to our college. This affects its proper functioning, as the currently allotted funds are not sufficient to upgrade its current infrastructure. We want to provide drinking water and better hostel facilities for the students who study here,” said Sarma.

“Several students have successfully passed their higher secondary examination from our college but lack of educational opportunities have hampered their higher studies. If the government helps us introduce a three-year degree course in our college then such students will be benefited. The government should also provide hearing aids to such individuals, as these are very costly,” said Sarma.