Lawsuit filed against Paa

Patna, Dec 5: A lawsuit has been filed in a court here charging Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan with violating the disabilities act through his latest film Paa in which he plays a 13-year-old boy suffering from progeria, which accelerates the ageing process. Big B has been accused of poking fun at people with disabilities. The case has been filed by Patna High Court lawyer Shruti Singh in the court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate under The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995. It has also been filed against Paa director R Balkrishna. “I filed a case in the court demanding a probe into whether Paa violated the act or not,” Singh said on Saturday. “My stand is simple: If it violated the disability act, the authorities should act against the producer and actors of the film for making a joke of disabled people,” she added. She said the court will hear the case next week. According to Singh, the act is guided by the philosophy of empowering people with disabilities and their associates. (IANS)

Expanding civil nuclear cooperation tops PM’s Russian agenda

New Delhi, Dec 5: Close on the heels of his visit to Washington, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh heads for Moscow on Sunday on a three-day trip with expansion of civil nuclear cooperation and an extended defence pact topping the agenda.

The agreement, expected to be inked during the annual summit talks between Manmohan Singh and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday, will ensure continuation of Moscow’s support for the ongoing civil nuclear programme in India and will ensure any unforeseen disruption of fuel supply and technology from Russia for nuclear power projects in India.

Thousands of disabled people celebrate World Disability Day

NEW DELHI, Dec 3: Some were on wheelchairs, others used sign language to communicate and hundreds were standing firm with white sticks - over 5,000 physically challenged people took part in World Disability Day functions here on Thursday hoping to draw attention to their plight.

Having come together at the India Gate lawns in the heart of the capital, these differently-abled people from across the country stood shoulder to shoulder raising slogans of unity. Later, they sat to watch the cultural show of young visually impaired children. “On this day for the past three years we all gather here. There are times when it feels like a ritual. We organize the event because on this day (the World Disability Day) we can draw attention to our plight,” said Javed Abidi, convenor of the Disabled Rights Group (DRG).

Abidi added that the estimated 70 million disabled people in the country were rooting for a separate ministry for disability affairs and fulfilment of promises in the 11th Five Year Plan - that each ministry should have a clear cut plan of action on disability issues and allocate three per cent of resources for improving the infrastructure.

Voicing the sentiments of the hundreds of deaf and mute, blind, autistic and other physically challenged individuals, the wheelchair-bound Abidi said: “Government, politicians, media, civil society all suddenly get a jolt on December 3 and wake up to the reality we live each day.”

Kiran, a visually challenged girl said: “Even though we don’t want to, we continue to be a burden on society. Where are the opportunities that the government promises?” Abidi said: “Almost 63 years after Independence only 10 per cent of India’s disabled citizens have access to something as basic a disability certificate that ensures them benefits. This process needs to be made faster and easier than the five-month long tedious procedure followed now.”

“How much does it take to ensure that all universities appoint a disability coordinator...union budgets have not allocated any money to make our hostels, libraries and labs barrier-free. Authorities really need to become more sensitive,” he added. Ramp at bus stands and schools, more spacious toilets in government and business establishments can go a long way to ease problems of people with disability, said Sanjay, a coordinator from an NGO.

The massive gathering of people hailed from states like Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi. (IANS)

Brawl at dhaba

DIBRUGARH, Dec 1: A midnight brawl at a roadside dhaba at Chabua left one injured last night. According to reports, one Kundan Singh and president of the Chabua unit of the Bhojpuri Parishad, Ajay Misra, were drinking when an argument broke out between the two and the former hit the latter with an iron rod. The Parishad’s official had to be admitted to a private nursing home here. The families of the two lodged complaints at Chabua police station against each other.