Disability day: Visually impaired protesters intensify stir outside secretariat in Shimla

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Yog Raj Sharma

The North News

Shimla, December 3

The members of the Himachal Pradesh Association of the Visually Impaired staged a protest outside the state secretariat in Shimla on Wednesday, marking International Day of Persons with Disabilities with black ribbons and slogans against the government. The group has been protesting for 771 days to press for demands including filling backlog vacancies under disability quota and increasing pensions. For the past 39 days, members have been sitting on the roadside outside the secretariat, saying the state government has not held talks with them or offered any assurances.

The protesters said that they have now begun a relay hunger strike, warning that the agitation will intensify after December 10  if the government does not respond. Some have even indicated they may escalate to an indefinite fast or consider extreme steps. Rajesh Thakur, secretary of the state unit, said members from across Himachal Pradesh will join the next phase of the protest. “We have been sitting here for more than two years, yet no representative of the government has met us,” he said.