Chandigarh, November 14- Haryana Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal today released text books in Indian Sign Language for up to Class V prepared for the differently abled by Haryana Welfare Centre for Persons with Speech & Hearing Impairment, Gurugram, on Children's Day. Such textbooks have been made for the first time in the country.
The Chief Minister said that Indian Sign Language should not be considered the language only for the deaf since it is required not only by the family members of the deaf but also by other people who should have basic knowledge of it.
Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal celebrated Children's Day today with children with hearing and speech disabilities. He visited the Haryana Welfare Centre for Persons with Speech & Hearing Impairment, Gurugram and witnessed the activities being carried out there.
He visited the Early Intervention Centre, Digital Sign Lab etc. in this centre and went on a round of the exhibition of items made by the children at the differently abled welfare centre.
Speaking on the occasion, Sh. Manohar Lal said that the text books prepared by this centre for hearing impaired children up to the age of 6 years and from Class I to V will not only benefit the hearing and speech-impaired people of Haryana but the country as well. It was informed during the programme that the number of such persons in the country is about 50 lakh and in Haryana there are about 1.5 lakh persons.
The Chief Minister was also informed that along with sign language, a digital sign language lab has been set up in this welfare centre, where more than 600 videos were made for hearing and speech disabilities, which were used during COVID-19vpandemic. These videos will be useful for the hearing impaired across the country.
In his address, Sh. Manohar Lal said that after visiting the welfare centre, he felt that a great miracle was happening here. Unprecedented work is being done to develop the language to lead a normal life through sign language for the children with physical impairment of hearing and speaking. He assured that the government will cooperate fully for providing whatever infrastructure is needed to make these children proficient.
He also said that big companies of the corporate world are operating in Gurugram. These companies are also coming forward to raise facilities for such children. The Chief Minister said that he had a meeting with the representatives of the corporate world on Saturday itself, in which he had called upon to invest CSR funds only in the places of need. He said that organizations and companies can help such wellness centres socially, financially and physically. The Chief Minister said that we all should be inclusive and sensitive by taking collective responsibility to help such disabled persons.
On this occasion, the Chief Minister also honoured the students of Kalyan Kendra who have excelled in sports at national and international level. Apart from this, he also felicitated the representatives of Colt which provided 350 laptops to this Centre, Bechtel which provided 2 digital screens and 17 staff members for supporting the operation of the Early Intervention Centre. Haryana State Road Development Corporation (HSRDC) has also provided IT equipment and 140 tablets worth about Rs 48 lakh to this Centre. The organizers also presented shawls and paintings made by the children of the Welfare Centre to the Chief Minister.
Earlier, Chairperson, Haryana Welfare Society for Persons with Speech and Hearing Impairment, Dr. Sharanjeet Kaur, and Director of Welfare Center, Dr. Seema, also expressed their views.
Media Advisor to Chief Minister, Sh. Amit Arya, Commissioner, Gurugram, Division, Sh.Rajeev Ranjan, Haryana Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Sh. Raj Kumar Makkar, General Secretary, All India Federation of Deaf (AIFD), Sh. V Gopala Krishnan, Deputy Commissioner, Gurugram, Dr. Yash Garg, Commissioner of Police, Gurugram, Sh. K.K. Rao, BJP District President Smt. Gargi Kakkar, Vice Chancellor, Maharishi Dayanand University, Dr. Rajbir, Vice Chancellor of Shri Vishwakarma Skill University, Sh Raj Nehru, and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.