FORMATION OF BLOCK-LEVEL GROUP FOR DISABLES

ARA-------------------------Under Section 72 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, a Block-level group for persons with disabilities (*Divyangjan*) has been constituted in Piro with the objective of promoting awareness, protecting rights, and ensuring the effective implementation of government schemes. The following individuals were appointed to key positions within the group: Nishchit Singh as Block President; Qiyamuddin Ansari as Vice President; Awadh Bihari Singh as Secretary; Pooja Kumari as Joint Secretary; Saroj Kumar as Media In-charge; Upendra Kumar as In-charge of the Information and Public Relations Cell; Phoola Devi as In-charge of the Women's Cell; Abhay Kumar as In-charge of the Sports and Athletics Cell for the Disabled; Santosh Kumar Rai as In-charge of the RTI Cell; Dilip Kumar as In-charge of Employment, Placement, and Monitoring; Om Prakash Kumar as Legal Advisor; Arvind Chaudhary as Medical Advisor; and Mohammad Ilyas Hussain as a DPO Member. All selected members have been designated to serve the community of persons with disabilities over the next three months through a spirit of selfless service and voluntary work. It was stated that the responsibilities would continue to be discharged in the future, provided that the performance remains satisfactory. The officials present at the meeting gave an assurance that, going forward, regular public hearings and awareness meetings for persons with disabilities would be organized at the Panchayat level every fortnight. Furthermore, a review and coordination meeting would be held once every month at the Block level to undertake effective initiatives aimed at the empowerment of persons with disabilities, ensuring access to the benefits of government schemes, protecting their rights, facilitating rehabilitation, and resolving their grievances. All officials, elected representatives, and members of the disabled community present at the event collectively pledged to work together towards the empowerment of persons with disabilities, the protection of their rights, and ensuring that the benefits of various schemes reach down to the Panchayat level.