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Pratap Meena, 40, from Amloda village in Rajasthan’s Salumbar district has always had mobility issues, being visually impaired by birth. But for the last six-odd months, he has a newfound sense of independence, thanks to an electric walking stick with a built-in sensor that he received at a camp organised by the district administration.
The sensor vibrates whenever Pratap encounters an obstacle, forcing him to stop. “At least now, my son can walk in the village without any help,” says his 62-year-old mother Mohini Bai.
Pratap is one of the 778 beneficiaries of the ‘Specially-Abled Free Limb Equipment Distribution Camp’, jointly organised by the Salumbar district administration and Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) from September 23 last year.
The camp, a brainchild of then district collector Jasmeet Singh Sandhu, is part of an umbrella initiative known as the ‘Sambal Abhiyan’.
Among other things, the ‘Sambal Abhiyan’ allows PwD beneficiaries such as Pratap to get better access to advanced assistive technology, including mobility aids such as electric walking sticks and battery-operated wheelchairs. It also helps connect PwDs to various central and state governments such as the Palanhar Yojana, the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram, and Anganwadi scheme.
For his initiative, Sandhu, a 2016-batch IAS officer now posted in Bhilwara, won The Indian Express’s Excellence in Governance Award in the social welfare category.
Under the scheme, a total of 1,232 assistive devices estimated to cost Rs 59.25 lakh were distributed in Salumbar.
To help distribute the equipment, the district administration enlisted ALIMCO, a public sector undertaking that manufactures artificial limbs and other rehabilitation aids for PwDs at affordable prices and which comes under the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Sandhu received the National Divyangjan Empowerment Award 2024 in December under the ‘Accessible India Campaign’ category for his schemes in Salumbar.
But the initiative in Salumbar was not without challenges. According to Hemant Khatik, joint director for Salumbar’s social justice department who managed the campaign, there were people who tried to fake a disability to get benefits. “The wheelchairs, especially the battery ones, are expensive, so there were people who tried to acquire and resell them. But we have a record of all our beneficiaries and a team of doctors. Only those with 40% or more disability are eligible to get benefits under government schemes,” he said.
Even after Sandhu’s transfer to Bhilwara in February, Salumbar’s district administration continues to organise the camps.
Said Sandhu: “We wanted to get the people, who live in a traditional society, to participate in governance — that had so far been limited…. So we started looking for schemes where their needs would converge with our government and went house-to-house… surveying over 4 lakh people and giving them awareness of the benefits.”
