President wants job reservation for the blind

THE President, Mr. V.V. Giri, today suggested that a certain percentage of jobs should be reserved for the blind and other physically handicapped in many establishments where they could usefully engage themselves and eke out their livelihood.

From his personal knowledge, the President said, such handicapped persons proved themselves quite proficient in technical jobs. Greater attention should be paid to the problem of rehabilitation of the handicapped, he added.

Mr. Giri was speaking after laying the foundation stone for a children’s ward and unveiling a bust of the late Sarojini Naidu at the Sarojini Naidu Eye Hospital here.

The children’s ward is being put out of donations collected by the Sarojini Naidu Commemoration Committee and Mr. Giri himself announced on the occasion a personal token donation of Rs. 500.

Stressing the importance of proper rehabilitation of afflicted persons, apart from the preventive aspect, the President revealed that during the past one decade or more, whenever he came across a well qualified but physically handicapped person, he would recommend the person to some State or the other and thus get him rehabilitated.

“Often, we find that after training in some field or the other or after making themselves academically qualified, many of them are denied opportunities for employment solely on the ground that they are handicapped. This is indeed tragic, he said.