December 22, 2020

Press Statement

The National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD) congratulates the disabled people whose vociferous protests forced the central government run National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Visual Disabilities to withdraw/cancel its December 15, 2020 order to close down its Kolkata and Secunderabad chapters.

The NPRD thanks the large number of disabled people who had demonstrated before the Secunderabad and Kolkata Chapters of the Institute. Today hundreds of disabled persons demonstrated before the Kolkata chapter of the institute under the auspices of various organisations.

The campaign saw over a hundred disability rights organisations and activists petitioning the Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment seeking the withdrawal of the order.

This campaign forced the government to rethink and issue a fresh order cancelling the December 15 order to shut down these chapters.

The NPRD views the fresh notification issued today as a partial victory.  Even while withdrawing the order, the Institute has  proposed phase-wise merger etc. with other institutes and even handing over to the non-government sector. This is unacceptable.

The services being offered by the regional chapters of the NIEPVD should continue as earlier. In fact there is a need to augment the services in the light of latest developments in technology and other fields.

The NPRD in consultation with other disability rights organisations will intensify the struggle to ensure that the status of these regional chapters are maintained and expanded.

(Muralidharan)

General Secretary

National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD)

36, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla Lane

New Delhi 110 001

Tel. 11-23387674; 9868768543