Source: Hueiyen News Service
Imphal, February 12, 2010:
A week long 44th All India Blind Welfare Week opened here today at the Home for the Blind, Takyelkhongbal, organised by the Students� Welfare Association for the Blind (SWAB).
The week long programme was inaugurated by the chairperson of the Manipur Women Development Corporation, AK Meerabai and president of SWAB, Dr W Nabachandra as chief guest and president respectively.
Paying of floral tributes to photograph of Swami Ashimand Sagarwadi, the person who tirelessly efforted for the welfare of the blinds which has been observed as blind welfare week across the country every year on his birth anniversary, marked the opening of function today.
To conduct free eye check up camp from village to village, to aware students and teachers of the schools on the diseases infecting eyes, to take up rehabilitation programme for the blind people in association with the NGOs and government authority will be the main items to be performed during the week long observation.
Speaking as chief guest of the function, AK Meerabai said blind should not live with despair.
They should know that many things which could not be done by normal persons can be performed by the visually handicapped people.
There is nothing that cannot be done if there is wills should be known by them.
Without hard work with patient nothing can be achieve even by a normal man, she encouraged the blinds.
In his presidential address Dr W Nabachandra said an Act to protect the blind people is in force in the state but the Act is not translated into action.
Many rights are given in the provisions of the Act is not aware to the people.
The best thing to deliver the rights of the blind people is awareness to the people.