Srinagar: On the eve of the International Day of Disabled Persons, Jammu and Kashmir Handicapped Association on Thursday held a protest demonstration here demanding implementation of the Disability Act, 2016.
The protesting handicapped persons from various areas of the Kashmir Valley assembled in press enclave and chanted the slogans “We want justice” and “We want implementation of disability Act 2016”.
President of the Jammu and Kashmir Handicapped Association Abdul Rashid Bhat rued that everywhere welfare measures are being announced for handicapped on this day but they are being forced to hit the street, he said.
“The central government has passed the Disability Act in year 2016. But 4 years have been passed, it has not implemented yet in the Jammu and Kashmir,” Bhat said.
“We do not have any right to celebrate this day as the government has failed to implement the Act here. We are facing problems in our daily lives as we did not have any money to feed our families,” he added.
They pressed for implementing the law to ensure they get benefitted and threatened of hunger strike in case their demand is not met. “We will go for the strike in front of the civil secretariat at Jammu on 25 January 2021,” he said.

ARIF RASHID