Shillong, Dec 3: Chief Minister Conrad Sangma highlighted transformative actions in the State to empower persons with disabilities (PWDs) to celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities at U Soso Tham Auditorium, here today.
He referred to the Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project stating it has empowered musicians with disabilities. The Chief Minister said that the flagship platform has shifted narratives from charity to rights, from pity to dignity and from labels to abilities.
“Through the Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project, we created the Eastern Brook Band, musicians with disabilities, who now carry our state’s story to the world,” he said.
He said the launch of the state’s first disability anthem has fostered hope and changed public perception. “Our inclusive debate competition opened college doors to neuro-divergent students. We identified 30 PwD entrepreneurs, funded eight with Rs 2.5 lakh each, and established the first PwD-run CSC in the entire Northeast,” Sangma said.
Highlighting the strides made in accessibility, Sangma noted that 41 government buildings and 84 government websites have been made accessible to persons with disabilities.
The Chief Minister also said that the Meghalaya Sign Bank App, 10,000 signs which was nationally awarded, ensures digital participation for all.
He also said that the first blind football tournament was organised which taught important values of solidarity.
“Our statewide community-based rehabilitation network reaches all districts and 46 blocks with over 70 per cent UDID coverage with 32,000 PwDs having their identity cards,” he said, adding that 58 merit-based scholarships are awarded annually with 370 students who have benefitted.
“Our District Resource Centres bring physiotherapy, speech therapy, audiology and early intervention services to every corner,” he stated.
He further informed that Meghalaya became the first state in the Northeast to embed mental well-being within governance and lauded several PwD who have risen against all odds and have become achievers and beacons of hope and inspiration in various fields.
Sangma praised several PwDs who have emerged as achievers across diverse fields, describing EMPOWERFEST 3.0 as a “movement that turned isolation into participation and sympathy into empowerment.” He urged citizens to help dismantle physical, digital, educational and economic barriers, and to ensure that “no dream is too distant, no voice too faint, and no ability too small to matter.
Outstanding PwDs were felicitated at the event. Awards for the EMPOWERFEST Inclusive Film Festival were presented, a K-9 sniffer dog unit was inaugurated, and an MoU was signed with Sankardev College for a statewide drug survey.
Ri Bhoi district also celebrated the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
A programme was organised by the Office of the District Social Welfare Officer in collaboration with the Nongpoh Area Women Welfare Association at the Nongpoh Dorbar Hall.
Nongpoh MLA Mayral Born Syiem, Deputy Commissioner Abhilash Baranwal, DSWO N.F. Sun, S. Pyrbot, Manager, District Resource Centre on Disability Affairs, community leaders, parents and children with disabilities attended.
A variety of competitions and a free medical health check up camp was organised during the day.
