Persons with disabilities face double whammy of inaccessibility and official apathy in the pandemic

A sizeable section of society faces the double whammy of disability and official apathy towards their special needs amid the raging second wave of COVID-19 across the country. Activists for disability rights complain that the National Disaster Management guidelines on Disability-inclusive Disaster Risk Reduction 2019 and the guidelines issued by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, besides a set of recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission issued last year, have scarcely been implemented on the ground. There is a lack of trained caregivers.” Srikishan Ahirwar, president of Madhya Pradesh Viklang Adhikar Manch, rued: “The disabled in our State are not even getting the paltry amount of Rs.500 in time under the State government’s monthly pension scheme for the persons with disability.” He added: “Several disabled persons have lost lives to coronavirus in our State for want of timely health care services.” Inaccessibility Meenakshi Balasubramanian, who is associated with Disability Rights Alliance Tamil Nadu and Centre for Inclusive Policy, complained about the inaccessibility of services and information for deaf-blind persons and persons with learning disabilities. Ketaki Bardalai, executive director of Shishu Sarothi, said: “The State Disaster Management Authorities really don’t know how to deal with disability but it’s clearly written in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act. We have written to the Director, Health Services, requesting him to set up a vaccination camp for the disabled and are waiting for the response.” Recently, over 160 disability rights organisations and activists requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide free door-step COVID-19 vaccination for people with disabilities and their caregivers, citing their physical vulnerabilities, pre-existing medical conditions and communication barriers.