Jammu, Jan 4:
Advisor to the Governor, Khurshid Ahmed Ganai, today called for holistic development of children with special needs. He was addressing participants here at a function organized by the Department of Social Welfare to mark Birth Anniversary of Louis Braille, who invented the Braille script. Secretary Social Welfare, Dr Farooq Ahmad Lone, Deputy Commissioner Jammu, Ramesh Kumar, Director Information & Public Relations Tariq Ahmad Zargar, Director Social Welfare Department Jammu Dr Bharat Bhushan, Commissioner Disabilities Mohammad Iqbal Lone and officers of the Social Welfare Department were present on the occasion. The Advisor emphasized the need to provide the best possible facilities for the holistic development of persons with Special needs and stressed on development of suitable infrastructure to facilitate their adjustment in society. Ganai also spoke about various initiatives launched by the Government for the welfare of Specially-Abled people and stressed the need to generate awareness for promoting their welfare. He also stressed on organizing sports events, other Co-curricular activities for taking care of varied interests of the Specially-Abled children. Lauding the cultural performances presented by the Specially-Abled children, the Advisor announced donation of Rs fifty thousand for the developmental works of Residential School for Blind at Roop Nagar, Muthi. The advisor asked the officers of the Social Welfare Departments to work with zeal and enthusiasm for the betterment and imparting life learning skills to the Specially children to enable them to achieve their goals. He said working for development of these children is like contributing towards a noble cause and asked the officers to work like social activists. In his address, Secretary Social Welfare, Dr Farooq Ahmad Lone, said that the Braille Day is celebrated as a reminder of the importance of accessibility and independence for the visually impaired. The day spreads awareness about Braille and other accessible forms of communication. He also said that the Department is keen to improve the overall infrastructure of the residential schools for Specially-abled children and assured that Unique Disability ID (UDID) cards for these children will be issued soon so that they will be able to avail benefits of other schemes as well. The children of the participating school and other senior artists showcased their talent and mesmerized the audience with their graceful performances. It was a feast for the eyes as the participants performed Skits, musical performances and threw light on Louis Braille contribution in their speech. On the occasion, the Advisor also facilitated achievers and performs of the Residential School who have excelled in various fields like sports, Music, Academics, Art and culture.
