Film festival for disabled people opens in city

An international film festival kicked off here on Tuesday that will showcase works related to persons with disabilities in what has been billed as a first-of-its-kind effort. The three-day International Film Festival for Persons with Disabilities is being organised by the department of persons with disabilities of the ministry of social justice and empowerment in the run up to the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3.

“The film festival has been organised as part of our efforts to empower persons with disabilities. This festival inspires us to empower PwDs,” Union minister of social justice and empowerment Thaawar Chand Gehlot said during the inaugural session. The session was attended, among others, by noted filmmaker-lyricist Gulzar, his daughter and director Meghna Gulzar, minister of state for social justice and empowerment Krishna Pal Gurjar, theatre personality Sanjana Kapoor and secretary of the department of persons with disabilities Lov Verma.

Mr Gehlot said that Indian culture inspires people to believe that “whoever is born has the right to live, be that person mentally, physically, intellectually challenged.” The minister added that the Modi dispensation was committed to providing “all possible” facilities to persons with disabilities and sought the co-operation of NGOs and state governments for ensuring effective implementation of schemes that the ministry has envisaged in this regard.

Mr Gehlot listed various measures that the government has undertaken in the interests of disabled persons and also referred to the “Accessible India Campaign,” which is to be launched by the prime minister on December 3, with the goal of facilitating ease of access for disabled persons in government buildings, public transportation systems and the information technology field. “We must provide a platform and opportunities for the disabled. We have designed programmes and our officers are working on it. But we also need participation from state governments and NGOs. This will help us make this effective for empowering persons with disabilities,” he said.