Minister Kharel Highlights Exclusion of Persons with Disabilities from Services

Kathmandu. Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Jagdish Kharel, has stated that persons with disabilities across the country are still deprived of basic services and facilities. 

Addressing the main ceremony organized on the occasion of the 34th International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Minister Kharel noted that the sensitivity that society and the state should show towards persons with disabilities has not developed sufficiently.

"Every one of us worries, becomes happy, and experiences happiness and sorrow. But when we meet persons with disabilities, we see the real definition of life within you," he said. "Despite numerous attempts to end discrimination, the discrimination against persons with disabilities has not yet ended."

Citing government statistics, he mentioned that there are about 650,000 persons with disabilities across the country, and nearly 150,000 of them are in severe condition. "The lives of many with severe disabilities are being spent on the bed itself. The question arises of how much attention the state and society have given to their lives," he said.

Mentioning the excessive difficulty in accessing necessary services from the provincial to the local level, Minister Kharel revealed the fact that even basic assistive devices like wheelchairs are not readily available for free.

He said, "Does a physically disabled person in Darchula, Baitadi, Solukhumbu, Rautahat, or any place in all seven provinces get a wheelchair easily and for free in their own district? This is still not guaranteed."

Minister Kharel emphasized the necessity for all three levels of government and society to work together to end discrimination and ensure accessible services.