Visually impaired academia urges Buzdar to provide allowances, facilities

Islamabad : President, Punjab Blind Professors and Lectures Association (PBPLA) Professor Mohammad Tahir has requested Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar to provide the differently abled professors serving in various colleges of the province their entitled facilities and allowances halted by the quarters concerned.

In his message on the World White Cane Safety Day 2021 marked every year on October 15, the PBPLA President said that these demands were already being presented before former governments time to time but no heed was ever paid.

Professor Tahir said, “But we anticipate for good gestures from the Chief Minister due to his kind heart and nice thinking regarding differently abled persons.” He informed that the sum under the head of special conveyance allowance, was very insufficient during current age, that was requested to increase up to Rs 10,000, from its existing rate of RS 2000, so that the physically challenged may be able to avail relatively safer transport facilities to approach their working places.

PBPLA President told that all these requested were raised in the application written to the Chief Minister. He noted that all of the employees working in special education department were drawing special allowance equal to full basic pay.

“Even the normal people working in that department have also been blessed with this allowance despite the fact that those normal employees don’t genuinely deserve it,” he said.

Professor Tahir regretted that on the contrary the disabled employees have to face much greater issues and problems, while working in general education.

“CM has also been urged to increase the existing special allowance to the level of full basic pay for all the disabled professors and lecturers. However, it is worth-mentioning here that we are very small in number, so this increase will not considerably burden national exchequer,” he underlined.

Moreover, he said the CM was also requested to issue an order for the grant of (pay-protection) including the consideration of service under contract terms, as regular service as special case to only those disabled professors and lecturers, working in Higher Education department, who were selected by PPSC on contract basis and they were regularized from time to time, during the previous years.

Professor Tahir informed that the CM Punjab was also requested to direct quarters concerned for the allotment of official residence to disabled employees on priority basis along with the provision of laptops as they had to rely almost exclusively upon computer and computer based gaits, especially in connection with the scanning and reading of books and other reading material.

While elaborating the demands, he said the Association has also urged the CM to provide house, car and flexible loans without interest as they lacked any means to earn money through part-time work, so that they may enable themselves to meet the economic challenges.

He added that it was also requested to the CM to ensure that allocation of posts and promotions under 3 percent disabled quota must be implemented at all public.