Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has said that special Anganwadis will be started in Kannur, Kasaragod and Wayanad districts.
Inaugurating a function here on Monday for the distribution of instruments and aids for differently abled people, he said that the special Anganwadis were being started with the objective of giving special care and attention to differently abled children.
Noting that the special Anganwadi scheme launched in Kozhikode district was exemplary, Mr. Vijayan said that the scheme would be extended to all districts in future.
He also informed that all paediatricians would be given special training to identify psychological problems of children at early stages.
Autism centres would be started in all medical colleges, he added.
Announcing that the State government would launch a mass campaign for making Kerala a differently abled access-friendly State, the Chief Minister said that various programmes would be organised in association with local bodies.
Kannur, which had already been turned into a differently abled access-friendly district, was a model in this regard, he noted.
Private institutions should also provide facilities for people who are differently abled, he added. He also informed that a centralised call centre facility would be started for the differently abled people.
Mr. Vijayan also said that museums and other protected monuments in the State would be made differently abled access-friendly by ensuring ramp, lift, wheel-chair, special toilet and parking facilities. Specially trained guides would be appointed to help the visually challenged visitors, he announced.
Health and Social Justice Minister K.K. Shylaja presided. Ports Minister Kadannappally Ramachandran, MPs, P.K. Sreemathy and K.K. Ragesh, Kannur Mayor E.P. Latha, district panchayat president K.V. Sumesh and District Collector Mir Mohammed Ali were among those present.