Punjab to get its first sign language centre in Patiala: Health Minister
Jouramajra said that the previous governments did not take any steps for the welfare of the disabled. The Punjab government under CM Bhagwant Mann is taking steps to empower them.
Punjab Health and Family Welfare Minister Chetan Singh Jouramajra on Saturday announced that the Punjab government will open State’s first centre for teaching sign language at Patiala.
He said that the previous governments did not take any steps for the welfare of people who are unable to speak and hear, but the Punjab government under chief minister Bhagwant Mann is not only providing special job opportunities to such people but also taking steps to empower all the disabled.
Attending a special function organised by Patiala Association of Deaf, president Jagdeep Singh as the chief guest, Chetan Singh Jouramajra urged the people that every citizen should learn sign language so that we can understand the feelings of people with hearing impairment and easily do conversations with them in a comfortable environment.
He saluted the struggle being made by people with speech or hearing disability and said that such people have more passion than ordinary people but they are not provided with proper opportunities. He assured that now CM Bhagwant Mann’s government will fully live up to the expectations of all Punjabis including the disabled.
President of Patiala Association of Deaf, Jagdeep Singh, while placing the demands of the deaf community before the health minister and MLAs, said that such people cannot speak and hear alone, but mentally they are not dumb, as it was said earlier. Therefore, such arrangements should be made to teach sign language to understand their feelings.
On this occasion, the students of Bhagat Puran Singh Deaf School and Patiala School for Deaf and Blind presented a colourful cultural programme. Persons with hearing diability, who have made achievemnets in various fields were also specially honoured.
MLAs Ajitpal Singh Kohli, Harmeet Singh Pathanmajra, Gurlal Ghanour, Gurdev Singh Dev Mann, Kulwant Singh Bazigar and Deputy Commissioner Sakshi Sawhney were also present on this occasion.