Activist petitions Shah to issue permits for caregivers of PWD

our public facilities are not disabled friendly. I am struggling with my caregivers reach my house without being stopped by the police

NEW DELHI: Wheelchair-bound Virali Modi, a disability rights activist, has started a petition requesting Union home minister Amit Shah to issue permits to caregivers and helpers of persons with disabilities so that they do not suffer during the lockdown imposed to control the spread of coronavirus.

To ensure welfare of People with Disabilities (PWD), the Union social justice ministry on March 26 had issued instructions to all states and Union territories to ensure that caregivers, maids, essential services and NGOS working with PWD were able to

VIRALI MODI, petitioner

reach them during the lockdown.

However, things on the ground seem to be far from what the central instructions laid down.

“As we all follow social distancing, our public facilities are not disabled-friendly and barrierfree. I am struggling with the basics of having my caregivers reach my house without being stopped by the police. The government needs to provide minimum support services for people with disabilities during the ongoing lockdown. There is a need for permits to be issued for the caregivers and helpers of persons with disabilities on a priority basis. Sign my petition,” Modi has said in her petition which she started on Change.org on Tuesday.

In less than 24 hours, the petition has already garnered more than 500 signatures.

In the petition, she said in the absence of accessible public facilities and assistive technologies, the disabled need human assistance.