Hyderabad, March 19, 2022: All India Confederation of the Blind (AICB), a body of blind persons working for and with the blind community to opened its South Indian headquarters at Hyderabad on Saturday.
AICB, the 42 years old body is made up of various state-level associations/organizations, starting from the grass-roots level. It has 24 affiliates across the country.
A small new office it owns in Cellar in Babukhan Estate, Basheerbagh was formally inaugurated by Ms. Muthu Selvi, Vice President of AICB, Chennai and Mr Ponugoti Chokka Rao, Secretary, AICB.
Immediately after the inauguration, a meeting followed which was graced by Thanneer Sri Ranga Rao, Chairman, Electricity Regulatory Commission; Shri Thakellapally Ravindar Rao, MLC.
Addressing the gathering, Thakellapally Ravindra Rao, MLC said their demand to implement the Persons with Disability Act 2016, duly insisting to appoint a disabled person as the Commissioner for Disabled welfare in Government of Telangana, is justified and will be taken to the notice of Chief Minister, he said.
Ten Visually Challenged Senior Citizens were given away old age pensions. The guests presented them with cheques. Later they felicitated the donors who include Shri Karmali Vijay Kumar, Prof Dr. T Dayakar Rao and others.
Speaking on the occasion Ms Muthu Selvi, who works with a bank in Chennai as Manager, travelled to Hyderabad alone without escort. She said, technology made many visually challenged self-dependent. I perform my duties as normal as a sighted person, she said.
Visually challenged were the first to adapt to Zoom Meetings as soon as Pandemic broke she said. AICB trains visually challenged in all aspects she said.
We will work towards introducing many leisure reading books in Telugu in braille, and Muthu Selvi said.
Technology and devices are helping Blind live and work independently, without help from escort, Muthu Selvi said.
Ponugoti Chokka Rao, Secretary of AICB said the newly opened regional centre of AICB will help blind in filling some farms, applications etc. We will play the role of advocacy. We help visually challenged to fight injustice.
We fought with Indian Railways and got 4000 new JBS created for special people said Muthu Selvi.
So far we have done a lot of work in the north. With this, we will start our work in the south as well informed Mr.J.L. Kaul Secretary General, AICB in a message from New Delhi. He couldn’t travel for the inauguration.
The idea behind opening this new office is to reach out to visually challenged who can approach this office for any support, help, guidance be it personal, professional added “Ponugoti Chokka Rao”, Secretary AICB.
Though there are plenty of braille textbooks, not many leisure reading books are available in braille in Telugu. We will like to take up a project to bring out more leisure reading books such as storybooks, comics etc in braille in Telugu so that we can cultivate more reading habits, Mr J.L. Kaul said.
The new centre at Babukhan Estate in Basheerbagh in Hyderabad will help more blind to embrace technology.
The statistics reveal that as per the lost census, there is 50 lakh visually challenged in India. But, this number in reality is far more than what was stated. It will be well over 3 o 4 times more, he said.
