Anuradha conferred Ashok Hans Memorial award

BHUBANESWAR: The Ashok Hans Memorial Award, instituted by Shanta Memorial Rehabilitation Centre (SMRC) in honour of its founder Ashok Hans, was presented to Anuradha Mohit, Director of National Institute of Visual Handicapped, Dehradun, on Friday.  Mohit was conferred the award by Governor M C Bhandare for her contribution in empowering the disabled, on the occasion of the second Child Rights Assembly for Children with Disabilities.The event was a colourful affair with differently-abled children from across the country including Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and different parts of Orissa, dressed in fancy outfits participating.Speaking on the occasion, Mohit appealed to the children to pursue their dreams with vigour, adding that the differently-abled have an array of career options to choose from in the Railways, Indian Civil Services and Indian Police Services.Drawing a comparison between the Child Rights Assembly and the United Nations Assembly, Bhandare said the three pillars for successful implementation of projects to facilitate the differently-abled are awareness, action and achievement. The awareness needs to be put to action to achieve the result, Bhandare said.Chairperson Asia & Pacific Disability Forum, Kandekar J Alam, emphasised on the conditions of the disabled in Bangladesh. People should stop treating the disabled with pity and treat them as equals, Alam said. “The laws need to be changed to accommodate the disabled as equals in the society. Thailand has changed its laws, and countries like India and Bangladesh are in the process of doing the same,” he said.S B Agnihotri, Director General, Shipping, said rehabilitation of the differently-abled children needs attention. “They need to be trained to create products that will sell in the market for quality but not charity,” Agnihotri said, calling for a wider scope for the differently-abled in the industrial sector. Poonam Bind of Indian Institute of Cerebral Palsy, Kolkata, was present.