Odisha: Sign language interpreters at police stations to assist people

In a first, the Odisha Government will empanel sign language interpreters at the police stations to assist people with hearing and speech impairments. State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Sulochana Das said the interpreters will assist the differently-abled in recording their statements and filing FIRs at the police stations.

'Every police station should have a sign language instructor'

Speaking about the conditions of the differently-abled, Sulochana Das claimed they were at a higher risk of being victim to a crime and they can't explain the crime. She said, "It is difficult to understand their language also. So, Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 has mentioned that every police station should have a sign language instructor," Das said. She also added that besides registering the police complaints, these interpreters will also provide help to such citizens in further legal proceedings. "They will help specially-abled persons to register their FIR and also interpret their feelings in the court. We have given a list of 13 certified sign language instructors to the police," she said.

In the absence of interpreters, people with speaking and hearing disabilities encounter extreme difficulty in registering their cases and narrating their ordeal to concerned law and order authorities.

Health care projects of around Rs. 400 crores

Chief Minister of Odisha Naveen Patnaik announced health care projects of around Rs 400 crores for the State's district hospitals. This move comes 10 days after the Chief Minister launched the ‘Mo Sarkar', the feedback on governance initiative on October 2.

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'Peoples' participation has been very inspiring'

As a part of the initiative, the Government also sent senior officers across the State with a directive to cover 15 districts. According to government officials, feedback on people's participation has been encouraging. Naveen Patnaik spoke to the media and said that the response to the initiative has been overwhelming. He also said that he made 120 phone calls to take feedback of people visiting hospitals and Police stations. "As part of our strategy, I had sent senior officers across the State with a directive to cover at least 15 districts, the feedback on peoples' participation has been very inspiring and the response by both police and health functionaries in the field has been very encouraging," the Chief Minister said. 

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(With ANI inputs)