The Department of Welfare of Differently Abled Persons on Tuesday listed out measures taken by the State government for the welfare of visually impaired persons.
The National Federation of the Blind, Tamil Nadu has been protesting since March 17 urging the State government to consider their slew of demands, including government jobs for visually impaired persons who completed the book binder training programme.
According to a press release, a total of 126 out of 359 book binders in the Department of Stationery and Printing are visually impaired persons, which is 34% of the total sanctioned strength, exceeding the existing 4% reservations for persons with disabilities.
Similarly, 32 posts of book binders and book binding assistants in public libraries functioning under the Department of School Education had been filled as per the government order. Considering digitisation of books in public libraries and usage of modern equipment in printing presses, the State government is exploring to provide alternative job opportunities for visually impaired persons instead of book binders, the press release said.
The Tamil Nadu Skill Development Corporation has empanelled institutes to offer skill development training for visually impaired persons to enable them get jobs in private companies and hospitals, particularly in the field of telemedicine. The State government is also taking steps to bring out legislation to provide for the representation of persons with disabilities in the local bodies in the State, the press release added.
Stating that the State government’s response has no connection to their demands, Babu, president of the National Federation of the Blind, Tamil Nadu said, “To our knowledge there are 25 book binder vacancies in the government. So how is it possible to be filled? We have been protesting for over nine days and not once have been invited for talks. This is an eyewash,” he said.
Published – March 26, 2025 01:09 am IST
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