Guwahati Hosts Week- Long Divya Kala Mela 2023

GUWAHATI: The week-long Divya Kala Mela 2023, organised by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), began on Thursday at Guwahati's Maniram Dewan Trade Centre.

Pratima Bhoumik, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India, and Pijush Hazarika, Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of Assam, graced the event.

Kishor B Surwade, DDG, DEPwD, stated in his welcoming speech that the department serves as a focal agency in matters pertaining to individuals with disabilities, including affecting coordination among various beneficiaries.

He emphasised that the department's goal is to create an inclusive society in which all divyangs in the country have equal opportunity to live productive, secure, and honourable lives.

Pratima Bhoumik, the union State minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for popularising the term "Divyang" to refer to people with disabilities in her speech.

In contrast to the word incapacitated, this word implies that a divyang person possesses heavenly abilities.

She informed the audience that the current event in Guwahati is the fourth in a series of events to promote and display the abilities and entrepreneurship of divyang people.

Every month, Divya Kala Mela will be held in a different city.

The next two events in this series will be held in Indore and Jaipur, respectively.

The minister also commended Assam Chief Minister Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma for acknowledging the necessity for the state to establish the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

She stated that Assam may take pride in being the first state in India to establish this ministry.

She also encouraged everyone to attend the seven-day fair and support the 100+ divyang artists from 18 Indian states.

Four people were awarded loans under the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC) scheme for diverse projects.

Pankaj Talukdar of Baksa district (Rs two lakhs for opening grocery shop), Himangshu Rai of Guwahati (Rs 36 lakhs for purchase of house/flat), Banashree Deka of Baksa (Rs five lakh for purchase of the adaptive vehicle) and Sunita Devi of Guwahati (Rs 50 thousand for opening tea stall) were awarded.

Another four people with varied disabilities were provided wheelchairs, CP chairs, hearing aids, and so on.

The vote of thanks was presented by Naveen Shah, CMD of NHFDC. The celebration finished with a colourful cultural program presented by a variety of artists.

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