White cane raps Centre for oversight

8220;By now,8221; says Shrimali wryly, 8220;I have got four to five hall tickets, without appearing for any exams.8221; The hall tickets were withdrawn days before the examinations began.

If education is the only ladder to surmount social disabilities, it has not helped Shrimali, blinded at the age of four due to an attack of small pox. An MA in Personnel Management and IndustrialRelations PMamp;IR from Tata Institute of Social Sciences TISS in the 1996 batch, 26-year-old Shrimali, who always studied on scholarships, has been literally knocking at doors for an employment.

Angry with another rejection from the State Bank of India where his hall ticket was withdrawn yet again for an officers8217; grade exam, Shrimali approached the Bombay High Court under the 1995 Persons with Disabilities Equal Oppurtunities, Protection of Rights and Equal Participation Act, 1996. The court in 1998 directed that the SBI allow him for the exams. The SBI claimed a visually challenged person could not work as an officer, since that required the use of your visual faculties like verifying signatures, looking at documents, etc.

At the final hearing of his petition yesterday, a concerned Justice B N Srikrishna gave the Union of India a deadline of six months to implement the Sections 32 and 33 of the new Disabilities Act. Shrimali is perhaps the first to approach the court under the Act. The Centre hasbeen directed to identify and reserve posts for the disabled in various public sector undertakings and also keep in mind the technological advancements in the world.

But that has far from gladdened Shrimali, who, maybe because of his unhappy experiences, can still see the loopholes in the implementation. 8220;It is okay if the implementation is right. They might just set up a committee and identify posts. How will they monitor that such posts are filled up? Also, if we go to the companies, they will say they have not got the circulars. What do we do then?8221; he asks.

Among the companies that failed to bring a bright spot in his life are the Dredging Corporation of India, where the recruitment agency which sent the hall ticket was blamed by the company for the oversight. He approached the VSNL Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd where it was a clerical mistake. Shrimali looked on as campus placement saw all his colleagues being picked up by companies.

Indo Petrochemicals interviewed him, but the deputy generalmanager personnel management said he would have to consult his higher authorities for permission. The man never returned the call. Hindustan Petroleum did not interview him. Professors at the TISS apparently could not help either. 8220;They said they have their limitations,8221; he says.

So, Shrimali with 57 per cent in an MBA degree from one of the top personnel management institutes of the country, joined the National Association for the Blind NAB as a stenographer. He was disappointed, but not disheartened. 8220;There are cases where those who have an MA in history or politics are working as telephone operators and assistants. Many have a telephone booth,8221; he says.

Shrimali has obviously kept abreast of the latest technologies in the field as he reels out names of various officers working in companies, despite their visual handicap. 8220;It is not difficult to work as an officer. Most of them work on computers. There are talking softwares available, which cost only around Rs 5,000. Surely if you spend so muchon your security, you could spend a little on the software?8221; he asks.

Which is why he is learning computers. That is in addition to the LLB exams he gave this year and the Junior Fellowship he is trying with the University Grants Commission. And he plays chess in the NAB hostel for working men at Jogeshwari.

Anything to get away from the tension of being visually handicapped and jobless.