'Be smart, help the differently-abled'

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Thiruvananthapuram can never be a Smart City in its full sense if it is not addressing the challenges of differently-abled people, said M K Jayaraj, the director of State Institute of Mentally Challenged. He was speaking at a meeting organised by the Corporation for experts working in the field of education, as part of preparing Smart City proposal. According to him it is necessary to create a barrier free environment for people with physical and mental challenge.


“There are many who have discontinued their education because they could not reach the class room located in third or fourth floor. If you are blind it is difficult to walk around the city. It is important to remove such injustice,” he said. Jayaraj lamented that the discussion did not have enough representation from people with disabilities.

According to him such people forms 10% of state’s population, but remain invisible. In his short speech he highlighted that early intervention before the age of three can make a huge difference to the life of these children.
The discussion had speakers from schools, colleges, education department, Pariksha Bhavan etc. Principal of MG Collge M R Sudarshana Kumar wanted the Smart City project to be utilised to make the campuses greener. “It is a big opportunity for us. All major campuses are located near roads. Let’s not litter the campuses at least,” he said. He proposed the idea of sharing resources among educational institutions.


From University College Biju Kumar of Chemistry department spoke about utilising the campus resources for the benefit of common man. “We have a fully equipped Chemistry lab which can be accessed by the public to test soil and water,” he said. Rajendran from education department wanted to improve the conditions of government school.

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