VELLORE: The mobile therapy unit (MTU) for disabled children resumed operations in Vellore on Tuesday. The action follows a TNIE report dated June 15, which covered the impact of the programme’s stoppage on the beneficiaries.
Speaking to TNIE, S Babu, district differently-abled welfare officer, said that a total of seven patients in four houses in PK Puram, Sennanguppam, Kanguppam in KV Kuppam area and Kalinjur in Katpadi were covered on the first day of resumption of the service. Babu added that hereafter, the doorstep physiotherapy service will be provided regularly to disabled children in Vellore.
The MTU service was stopped in Vellore for the last three years. As a result, parents of some of the beneficiaries told TNIE that they were finding it difficult to take their children to nearby hospitals for physiotherapy and were now left with no choice. They further said that things were easier when the unit was rendered at their homes.
In July 2013, the then chief minister J Jayalalithaa issued a government order (GO 70) sanctioning one vehicle per district to visit the homes of the disabled children up to six years of age and provide physiotherapy. In June 2015, the programme was formally launched in the state’s then 32 districts.
However, in Vellore district, the service was stopped for the last three years reportedly due to several administrative issues, including reduced fund allocation, irregular salary payments and lack of trained staff.