Pensions for disabled to be hiked: Seethakka

Hyderabad: While emphasising that the State government was committed to the welfare of the disabled, Minister Seethakka assured that their pension would be hiked in the coming days.

Addressing an event held at Ravindra Bharati on the occasion of World Disability Day as the chief guest, the Minister reminded the participants that the present government, which has already come up with initiatives like ‘Job Portal’ for helping disabled find jobs in private companies, was exploring new avenues to ensure lakhs of disabled get employment opportunities.

The Minister promised that the government will be distributing mobility aids, including scooters, to the eligible in the coming days. Keeping up with the pace of welfare activities in the next four years, the government will be coming up with other initiatives to help them improve their standard of living, which will be unprecedented.

Describing the BJP government in the Centre as unsupportive of the disabled, the Minister called upon the participants to pressurise the Union Ministers and MPs with the demand to hike the pension offered by the Union government. She said that the BJP government has failed to hike pensions after coming to power in 2014, and nominal pensions were being paid. The Minister reminded the participants that the State government has allocated Rs 50 crore for their welfare in this present budget for supporting the disabled through various programmes.