Looking into sports academy for disabled in Meghalaya: Ramdas Athawale

SHILLONG: Union minister of state for social justice & empowerment Ramdas Athawale on Wednesday said his ministry will look into the proposal of setting up a sports academy for the disabled in the state at an estimated cost of Rs 350 crore.
Talking to the media on Wednesday evening, he added that 11000 'divyangs' (differently abled persons) are receiving the divyang pension of Rs 500 every month in the state.Stating that his ministry is working for providing opportunities and facilities for the disabled people to create an atmosphere which will guarantee them equal opportunities, he said, "This can ensure the protection of their rights and enable their full participation in society".
He added, "Some of the schemes are like assistance to disabled persons by providing them aid, appliances and pension." He further informed that his ministry has increased the reservation in central government, state government and semi-government services for disabled people.
The minister said the Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan or the Accessible India Campaign is set to serve the differently-abled community of the country. "During the last five years, about 4,800 divyangs have been provided various assistive devices and aid in 5 camps across Meghalaya. The schemes of the Government of India have always been directed towards the welfare of people of the country," he added.
Earlier in the day, the minister inaugurated the 'incubation centre' at North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) here in the presence of state minister of art and culture, AL Hek, and NEHU vice-chancellor SK Srivastava. "The 'incubation centre' will benefit people in developing their entrepreneurial skills and help generate and provide employment opportunities to a lot of individuals," he said.
"The concept of incubation centre is drawn from the vision of Prime Minister's self-efficiency in country's products made under Make in India to provide an eco-system for startups to offer guidance, mentoring, physical space and network for funding and value-based collaboration for incubation of novel ideas," he added.
Hek said the incubation centre will meet the needs of young minds of the state and neighbouring regions as well. "Demand-driven projects, which are applicable to the state, should be incorporated by the Centre which will benefit the people," the minister added.
"The incubation centre will offer active incubation support to the new proposed ventures to become independent and self-supporting over a period. The centre will also help provide technical knowhow to these ventures to become efficient, competent models so that they become eligible for formal funding support from donors, philanthropists, network partners and investors," he said.