The Indian government on Wednesday informed the Delhi High Court that disability support workers should be allowed to reach them “by exempting them from restrictions during lockdown or providing them passes in a simplified manner on priority”.
The information was given to Justice V Kameswar Rao after he had posted a query to the Government seeking to know whether disability support worker are exempted from the restrictions. The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, in response, told the court that on March 26, it had issued detailed guidelines to provide better facilities to persons with disabilities.
The guidelines stated that all information concerning the Covid-19 pandemic should be available in a simple, local language in accessible formats, including Braille and audio, for persons with vision disabilities, the Government Counsel Anurag Ahluwalia told to the HC.
The guidelines also stated that all emergency service providers should be trained to deal with persons with disabilities.
The court was hearing a plea by Varun Khullar, a person with a disability and a DJ and music producer, who had sought directions to the Indian Government to classify disability support workers, attendants and support staff of persons with disabilities as medical personnel and consequently grant them exemptions during the coronavirus lockdown.
