Persons with disabilities, rallying under the banner of the Karnataka Rajya Angavikalara Vedike here on Monday, began an indefinite strike demanding the Mysore City Corporation (MCC) to utilise the three per cent grant meant for the welfare of the disabled, and issue licences to shops being run by them in the city.
If the MCC does not fulfil their demands, the vedike, in association with other organisations for the disabled, would resort to legal remedies, they said, during the dharna held outside the MCC office here. Among the agitators were members of various associations of the disabled.
MCC had failed to utilise the three per cent grant and ignored a circular issued by the Department of Urban Development in 2011–12, which had asked it to utilise grants to benefit the deserving, they alleged. They also accused the MCC of demolishing over 40 shops run by them in Mysore, on the norms that these shops “violated norms”.
It is unfortunate that the owners of these shops were left to fend for themselves afterward. These people should be given financial assistance under the 3 per cent grant to restart their businesses.
The MCC must constitute a committee comprising disabled persons, MCC officials, elected representatives and the District Officer for the Disabled to monitor the utilisation of the grant, they demanded.
The MCC must also initiate steps to establish shelters for the mentally challenged and those suffering from cerebral palsy in the MCC limits, and separate hostels for disabled boys and girls in the pre-and post-matric sections. It should also arrange for lifts or ramps to help disabled persons who want to meet MCC officials.
