The Telangana High Court asked the state to inform steps it is taking to assist persons with disabilities during the lockdown by by April 22, in tune with guidelines issued by the Indian government.
A bench of Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice T Amarnath Goud gave this direction while hearing a PIL filed by advocate Ganesh Karnati from Uppal, who charged the state with ignoring the Centre’s guidelines and leaving persons with disabilities to fend for themselves in an insensitive manner amid the lockdown, reports Times of India.
Kowturi Pavan Kumar, the counsel for the petitioner, told the court that though the state was claiming to be prepared to face the Covid-19 pandemic with the required quarantine centres, isolation wards, and hospitals, the administration was yet to make them accessible for persons with disabilities.
The bench told him to give details of NGOs which could be entrusted with the task for the time being.
“In fact, the people with disabilities are more susceptible to viruses like Covid-19 compared to others on account of their physical, sensory and cognitive disabilities. For example, persons with vision disabilities rely on “touch functions for their mobility and day-to-day activities, thus, increasing their risk of infection,” the counsel said. They also face serious limitations in following hand washing norms and social distance norms as they are dependent on their caregivers due to their physiological constraints.
