Bhubaneswar: In a step towards empowerment and rehabilitation of persons with disabilities (PwDs), the Central government has opened 35 new District Disability Rehabilitation Centres (DDRC) in 8 states including Odisha.
Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Virendra Kumar inaugurated the DDRCs through video-conference on Thursday. The Centres, established by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the ministry include 13 in Madhya Pradesh, 7 in Andhra Pradesh, 6 in Odisha, 4 in Tripura, 2 in Maharashtra and 1 each in Assam, Nagaland, and Manipur.
Speaking at the inauguration event, Kumar emphasised the remarkable achievements of PwDs in various fields. He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to provide the best possible services to ‘Divyangjan’, highlighting recent changes in the Central scheme guidelines to enhance the functioning of DDRCs.
The minister commended the adoption of new technologies by the DDRCs, such as tele-medicine services and assistance in UDID card registration, aiming to improve accessibility and efficiency in service delivery. He urged NGOs to strive for excellence in rehabilitation services.
Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Pratima Bhowmik asked the new DDRCs to serve as crucial channels for delivering rehabilitation services directly to PwDs at the grassroots level. This initiative ensures that individuals with disabilities no longer need to travel to distant areas to access essential facilities.
Secretary of the department Rajesh Aggarwal said the government aimed at ensuring accessibility to rehabilitation centres be it DDRCs or CRCs within 100 km of radius across the country. Joint Secretary of the department Rajeev Sharma also spoke.
The DDRCs aim to offer comprehensive services including medical provisions, education, skill training, rehabilitation services, early identification, assistive device fitment, UDID Registration Facilitation, financial assistance, prosthetics and orthotics, physiotherapy, speech and hearing therapy, special education, parent counselling.
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