MP: 23 deaf and mute persons rescued from Delhi amid lockdown
Deaf and mute persons employed with private firms andhotels in Delhi and Gurgaon were stuck because of the lockdownand were finding it difficult to survive, Gyanendra Purohit,director of Indore-based NGO Anand Survey Society told onTuesday.
"Our initial attempts to convince officials to rescuethem failed. However, when it was announced that the lockdownwould enter the third phase, people became restless and justwanted to come home," he said.
The NGO had been highlighting the plight of thesepeople on social media and residents of Haryana like Dr HemantAtri arranged to provide essentials to them, Purohit said.
The organisation subsequently approached additionalchief secretary ICP Keshari who set the ball rolling for therescue, he said.
Communicating with deaf and mute persons was a majorchallenge, he said, adding that text messages and video callswith sign language were the only means to stay in touch.
With the help of Prakash Unhele, additional residentcommissioner of MP in Delhi, 23 deaf and mute persons weretransported to one place in Haryana and after several videocalls, they were rescued and reached Gwalior on Monday.
"Majority of them are employed with Amazon and otherprivate companies," he said, adding that the organisation wasgetting several calls from disabled persons from the state whoare stuck in other parts of the country.
Meanwhile, when asked if similar efforts would betaken for other stranded migrants, Keshari said, "We are notagainst bringing people back, but their numbers should be atleast enough to arrange buses for them. Our priority right nowis to rescue migrants who were stranded on roads without anymeans to survive." MASARU ARU