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Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Vekho Vero, additional Chief Electoral Officer N Mia Aier; Chief Electoral Officer Abhijit Sinha; and Dr Atha Vizol and Diethono Nakhro.[/caption]
Our Correspondent
Kohima,Nov.4(EMN):A workshop that imparted information in mapping or identification, and enrolment of Persons with Disability (PwD) in the electoral roll was conducted at Hotel Japfü in Kohima, on November 3. The workshop was conducted for assistant electoral officers and special educators of the elementary education scheme Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA) and members of the School Education department.
A disability rights activist and state icon for PwD, Diethono Nakhro, talked about disabilities. She said they were broadly divided into five categories: Physical disability, intellectual disability, mental illness, disability due to chronic medical conditions, and multiple disabilities.
According to Nakhro, the Election Commission of India had made inclusion of PwD in the election process a priority with the slogan ‘No voter to be left behind.’
She added that the commission developed a strategic plan focussed on removing barriers to motivate, facilitate and enhance participation of PwD in the election process.
In order to improve the status of PwD in the state, she said, they need to ‘come out, enrol and show their numbers to others and thus bring a change in their social standing and general acceptance.’
Another speaker was Dr Atha Vizol, commissioner for People with Disabilities. He said that the Naga people have a ‘habit of abusing the basic rights’ of people who have disabilities ‘by denying them the right to even participate in social events like weddings or other social events.’
The officer urged the gathering to promote the cause of people who have disabilities, and to publicise their plight in the community.
He sought better coordination among the parents of persons with disabilities, teachers, the church, and nongovernmental organisations to tackle issues concerning people who have disability.