About a hundred blind men and women today gathered in protest at Karunamayee, salt Lake in Kolkata. Although the country is still not out of grip of Corona and regular railway services are still restricted due to the pandemic, some of these blind people, students and adults, came all the way from Purulia to join this protest movement. They demanded among other things immediate opening up of blind schools. Online education is not suitable for the blind students as most of them do not have access to costly smart phones and computers. They need hands-on guide and practive because they use tactile methods like Braille. So is the case with the deaf-and-dumb students. They need their lessons in sign language.
Among other demands were filling up of vacancies in all special schools in the state, timely payment of stipend for blind students, regularisation of conveyance allowance for blind teachers, implementation of exemption from election duty for blind teachers and shifting of education for disabled persons to the Ministry of Education to the Ministry of Mass Education.
The protest campaign started in scorching heat, but in an hour the situation changed when rains started. However, the programme was hardly disrupted by the severe rain. Although thoroughly drenched, the blind protestors continued demonstration.
A six-member delegation from Blind Persons’ Association, Forum for Students with Disabilities, Jadabpur University, and All Bengal Blind Teachers Association submitted a twelve-point charter of demands to the Ministry of Mass Education. It was announced by the organisers that they would soon return if their demands were not fulfilled.
