Walk for “Accessibility and Inclusion” flagged off at Hyderabad university

Did you know that the gear box of the Hero Honda motorcycles is assembled in India by visually challenged persons?

Its true and a significant achievement for the country, says Konda Vishweshwar Reddy, an MP and industrialist himself.

Speaking after flagging off a “Walk for Accessibility and Inclusion” at the University of Hyderabad on Sunday, the MP from Chevella in Telangana said “Communication skills of visually challenged persons are much better in comparison to normal persons”.

The MP further stated, “My aunty who was also visually challenged built the first hostel for girls who were visually challenged in Hyderabad and it was one of the first in Asia.”

He also made a mention of University receiving the award in 2016 for the best institution in the country for being more accessible to persons with disabilities. The MP and the University VC, Appa Rao Podile flagged off the walk in the campus in which many students of the Central University took part with blind folds to have a first hand feel of how the visually challenged persons face difficulty in navigating while walking, a University release said.

Rangareddy Thoutireddy, a visually challenged student of MA-Economics who has organised this event says, “We would like our friends in the campus to be sensitive to the needs of the differently abled persons”.

“This event aims at sensitizing the student fraternity by raising awareness about the needs and issues of the differently abled. It also highlights the need for physical, informational and service accessibility and adoption of inclusive attitudes, policies and practices”, he added.

Later a website was launched by the differently abled students forum called the Association for Inclusive Development (UoH)which will help volunteers to register for being scribes for visually and differently abled students for examinations. A digital database English - Telugu Directory was also launched on this occasion.

The UoH has created a Centre to support the students and staff with disabilities studying or working in the Campus. It has received a grant of ₹6 crore a few years ago from the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment to create a barrier free, suitable environment to make their life a bit more easier on campus.

The University drew up a plan and has implemented it which includes 18 lifts in the 15 buildings, including academic, library and administration as well as several Braille signages and accessible control panels on the sprawling campus in Gachibowli area of Hyderabad. Each lift has provisions to accommodate wheel chairs in accordance with the Bureau of Indian Standards.