The Times of India             12.07.2013 

Civic body to distribute artificial limbs to 250 disabled children

AURANGABAD: Under its Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan programme, the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) on Thursday conducted a camp in the city to measure disabled children in order to provide them artificial limbs and other supporting gadgets.

Education officer in the AMC, A M Shaikh, said that the civic body had identified about 614 disabled kids in the city during its survey done in May-June 2013. "We found that 250 kids of the total lot identified could be provided with artificial limbs and other supporting gadgets," he said.

He said the kids would be provided with artificial foot, wheelchairs, clutches, etc. "These equipment will be offered to kids within the next one month. Today we met one category of kids who could be provided these material," he said, adding that kids in other categories would also be examined soon. In some of the cases, the AMC is also trying to provide medical treatment so that the kids could go to schools regularly, he said. The entire programme has been designed to give quality education to all children including those with mild and moderate disabilities.

The event on Thursday saw a special team of doctors and experts from Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) examine the disabled kids. AMC physiotherapist Sandeep Kendre said that the experts had taken measurements of the children.

The experts also advised surgery to a physically disabled child, Rahul Dharmakhadhane, who visited the camp. "Doctors have advised a surgery to improve strength in my polio-affected leg. They also assured that the government would incur the expenditure," the class seven student said. In addition to this, the municipal corporation will organise a primary health check-up camp for all the students in the city.

Earlier, inaugurating the event, deputy municipal commissioner in the AMC, Suresh Petgaonkar, appealed to the masses to assist the municipal corporation in identifying disabled students so that they could be offered medical services and better education.