Kathmandu, September 3:

Disabled Dalits today demanded special privilege for them on every facility provided by the state to the disabled people. Presenting a concept paper at an interaction on ‘Problems of Disabled Dalits and Ways of Solution’ organised by the National Dalit Disabled Welfare Association (NDDWA), the association president Sher Bahadur Parki said the government should take special care of the Dalit disabled. “Government should provide a facility of loan without any mortgage to the disabled Dalits who want to do income-generating works,” Parki said. He also said the government should work to change peoples feeling towards the disabled.

NDDWA general secretary Yaduni Das said disabled people are seeking opportunities and not sympathy. “We have already made a policy to support the disabled Dalits,” said Gajadhar Sunar general secretary of Dalit NGO Federation (DNF), adding, the federation would support all the programmes of the association. Journalist Binod Pahadi criticised both the Dalit Development Committee and the DNF for not allocating a single penny for disabled Dalits.

“Billions of rupees are being spent in the name of Dalits, but nothing has been done for the disabled Dalits,” he said. Admitting that nothing has been done for the welfare of the disabled Dalits yet, Hari Gandhari, the member secretary of the National Dalit Commission, and a disabled himself, expressed commitment to allocate a certain amount for them in the future.