New Delhi: In a major push for the upliftment of persons with disabilities, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is hosting nearly 200 artisans and entrepreneurs with physical and intellectual disabilities.
In an attempt to showcase their skills, a wide range of products including embroidery works, handicrafts, packaged food, other eco-friendly products will be available at a six-day long 'Divya Kala Mela' starting on Friday.
Likes of the event, slated to go on till December 7, should feature more and more, said Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Dr. Virendra Kumar on Friday during the inauguration ceremony at Swami Vivekananda Road area of the capital.
Appreciating PM Modi for coming up with the idea resembling "Aatmairbharta'', the Minister said, "Similarly we have to empower our brothers and sisters who might be physically or mentally disabled but even then they have the willingness to work on their own. So such events would raise their morale and would make them Aatma Nirbhar."
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At the venue, there were vibrant products from various parts of the country including Jammu and Kashmir, North Eastern states among others.
"People from Jammu Kashmir have been given 8 stalls. So each stall has 2 persons selling their products. We appreciate the efforts of the government but this will impact our trade negatively. Two different persons are selling their products from the same stall, so there are logistical and other issues. This is creating a problem for us," a stall attendant, requesting anonymity, said.
When asked whether they contacted the concerned officials, they said that "We had a word with them and we requested them to change this pattern but they declined." Another man said that "I had a word with a man from Punjab who is selling pickles and we ourselves thought that we can work at the same stall. He agreed to it but when we proposed this idea to the officers, they declined and said that they can even cancel their name from the list if they attempted to change any modalities."
"So there are management issues as well. The washrooms also are nearly 700-800 meters far away from my stall. So this is an issue for us", said a man sitting in his wheelchair.
A few more people from Maharashtra and Haryana expressed similar feelings that this is an obstacle to their business and might impact their trade but all said that despite this, this event will be a huge morale booster for them.
