Jaipur: A 35-year-old acid attack survivor from city's Vidhyadhar Nagar is struggling to renew her disability certificate, necessary to secure a govt pension, due to absence of plastic surgery specialists and other required specialists on the govt's Swavlamban portal.
Upon visiting the chief medical health officer (Jaipur I) office on Wednesday, she was instructed to return after a month. The woman sustained burn injuries in an acid attack in Feb 2011, and all these years later is still having to run from pillar to post to obtain the certificate which is supposed to be easily accessible through Swavlamban portal.
She is among many applicants who are unable to obtain or renew disability certificates due to deficiencies in the portal. The certification process requires specialist doctors to examine applicants and assess their disability levels. Due to lack of registered specialists in various disciplines on Swavlamban portal, beneficiaries are being asked to wait. For the past two months, the state govt has implemented a fully online process for issuing disability certificates.
The acid attack survivor, who visited the CMHO's office on Wednesday with her mother, left disappointed. "We are facing financial difficulties. Someone told us that she is eligible for govt pension due to burn injuries sustained in acid attack. But, here we have been asked to come back after a month," her mother said.
Speaking about the Feb 2011 acid attack, the survivor said, "I was riding pillion while going to attend coaching classes when attackers threw acid on us. The girl riding the scooter also suffered burn injuries. I remained admitted for two months in hospital. My face and other body parts suffered burn injuries."
Currently, the CMHO refers applicants to Kanwatia Hospital, Adarsh Nagar psychiatry centre, Bani Park satellite hospital, and Sethi Colony satellite hospital, but these facilities lack specialists in all required disciplines. The situation is particularly challenging for individuals with multiple disabilities. For instance, patients requiring assessment for both hearing and mental health disabilities face difficulties as no single hospital offers both specialties. While SMS Hospital has both facilities, its doctors are not registered on Swavlamban portal.
A health department official said, "We have already written to SMS Hospital seeking names of specialists for making assessment and for forming medical board to issue the certificates online. They are working on it."
SMS Hospital superintendent Dr Sushil Bhati said, "We have received the letter from CMHO and have sent it to SMS Medical College for further directions."
Mohammad Ali from Transport Nagar, who has mobility issues, shared, "I am not receiving pension for the past three months as this old certificate is not acceptable. I have to get it renewed for the pension through online process."
Ashish Yadav, 47, from Imli Phatak, accompanied by his mother, visited the CMHO office for online disability certification but was asked to return later, as no hospital registered on Swavlamban portal currently offers both hearing and mental health specialties.