No jobs, differently abled lodge protest on their day

Ludhiana : Accusing the government of adopting an indifferent attitude towards them, unemployed differently abled persons staged a protest at a state-level function here today. The event was organised to mark the International Day of Disabled Persons at Government Institute for Blind where a large numbers of differently abled persons from across the state gathered.
They claimed that they had received information that appointment letters would be offered to them at the event.However, when no such development took place, they started raising anti-government slogans.Earlier, Social Development of Women and Children and Public Works Department Minister Razia Sultana was to attend the function, but she failed to turn up.
At the end of the event, many persons started raising slogans against the government for not giving jobs and pension to them. The authorities claimed that they had not made such announcement.
Sandeep Singh (32) of Sangrur said: “We got information from different sources that appointment letters would be given to 272 persons, but nothing was done. After pursuing graduation, I did diploma in arts and crafts, but I am still unemployed.”
Ramesh Kumar (27) of Lalru Mandi in Mohali said: “We are two brothers and both disabled. My mother is the sole bread earner. The government has failed to provide any facility to us. We were even disrespected on this day. It is a cruel joke on us as we were hopeful of getting jobs. Many of us don’t even get pension. Around 1,000 posts reserved for differently abled are lying vacant.”
During the event, Principal Secretary, SC/BC Welfare, R Venkat Raman said the state government would ensure the implementation of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, in a rightful manner.He said information about the Act would be made available in Punjabi for higher awareness.