Pune: District disability rehabilitation centre at Aundh Hospital, Rs 3.5 crore sanctioned

The proposed centre is being built after much research, said Ayush Prasad, CEO of Pune ZP. According to district health authorities, the centre has been designed so that it will comply with the needs of 21 types of disabilities as per the Rights of Persons With Disabilities (RPWD) Act 2016 and the National Building Code.

Presently, the centre’s activities are underway at Aundh General Hospital where rehabilitative support to persons with disabilities is being provided and more than 30,000 beneficiaries have been assisted since 2018 as part of the effort taken up by the Pune district collectorate.

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The centre will be unique in the country with all advanced therapies and programmes, including a single-window scheme under one roof, Pravin Korgantiwar, district social welfare officer told The Indian Express.

There will be state-of-the-art specialised therapy and counselling areas. Therapies including physiotherapy, occupational speech, play, music, dance, sensory integration, aqua therapy, horticultural therapy and a sensory garden will be included in the centre, which will be set up across 400 sqm at Aundh General Hospital. It will also serve as one for multiple disability sensitivity skill assessment and vocational guidance, functional assessment and counselling, interactive personal assistive device orientation and training.

Architects empanelled with the social justice and empowerment ministry under Accessible India campaign will also work on the project. Early detection and early intervention are crucial also for mainstreaming this population of persons with disabilities, Kanhekar added.

The focus will also be on providing training to persons with disabilities for early motivation and early stimulation for education, vocational training and employment. Identifying suitable vocations for persons with disabilities, keeping in view local resources and designing and providing vocational training and identifying suitable jobs, to make them economically independent is important, Kanhekar said.

From 1999-2000, DDRCs have been established with active support from state governments. They are now set up and funded under Scheme for Implementation of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (SIPDA) – an umbrella scheme under which grants-in-aid are provided to state governments and various other bodies, set up by the central and state governments, including autonomous bodies and universities, to support activities.

Across the country, there are approximately 300 districts with DDRCs and in Maharashtra, there are 17 including Pune, says Vijay Kanhekar, project coordinator at Pune’s DDRC. Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule had played a key role for such a centre back in 2011.