RAMANATHAPURAM
Members of Ramanathapuram District Association of the Hearing Impaired staged a protest demonstration in front of the Collectorate here on Monday, pressing for their charter of demands, which included exclusive reservation for them in government jobs and allotment of free green houses.
Holding placards, listing out their 32 demands, the protesters, including women, led by S. Francis, president of the association, said though the government had announced 4% reservation for differently abled people, they could never get government jobs as they happened to be ‘deaf and dumb’ and the jobs were cornered by others and visually challenged. The government should impart sign language training to people with hearing disability and provide them jobs, he stressed.
The association had 180 members and no one had got a government job though most of them fulfilled all eligibility conditions, the protesters said. Stating that they eked out a living by doing odd jobs, they urged the government to help them with at least self-employment ventures with subsidised bank loans.
Stella Christopher, warden of ‘Home for the deaf’, who accompanied the protesters to translate their sign language to officials, said Collector S. Natarajan gave a patient hearing to their grievances and assured them that he would do whatever was necessary.
She said the Collector told them that the government would accord priority in allotment of houses built for those affected by tsunami at subsidised rates. She said their demands included issue of free bus passes, allotment of free green houses and house site pattas, exemption of house tax, free electricity and free education.
