New Delhi: Avadesh (38), a physically handicapped person who   works as a helper in a shared auto, has hardly earned  anything in the past one month since the Covid lockdown has   been imposed.
“I met with an accident seven years ago,  which led to a dislocation of bone on my left leg. I cannot   walk properly but used to earn my living by working as a  helper in a shared auto on the Peeragarhi-Uttam Nagar route,  said Avadesh, the breadwinner for the family.
But since  the current lockdown has been announced to contain the viral  infection, “we didn’t get passengers and our auto driver  decided to go off-road from May 5. My mother and younger sister are dependent on me and it has become difficult to arrange  two-square meals”, he added.
Avadesh is not alone. Many   persons with disabilities have been affected in the pandemic ..
and an NGO, NIPUN, has been distributing dry ration and  and sanitation kits among such people in Meera Bagh. Over  the last two days, NIPUN provided ration and  other essential items to 50 people with mental illness and  various physical disabilities.
Pradeep Kumar, its secretary, said, “In the next phase, we   we are planning to involve the government and like-minded  NGOs to provide community-based rehabilitation to persons  with disabilities. We want to help them get skill-based  employment.”
Twenty-five-year-old Deepak, another  physically handicapped person, has been jobless for nearly  a year while his mother, a domestic help, has lost  employment around a month ago. “I used to work in an  electrical equipment factory. I lost the work last year and,  despite my repeated attempts, have failed to find another work,” said Deepak.
While his elderly father is  bed-ridden, his mother’s employers stopped calling her after  the lockdown was imposed last month. “I also have a younger  sister. It has become difficult to buy medicines for my  father or pay the rent of Rs 2,500,” said Deepak, thanking  NIPUN for providing the ration.
Another beneficiary,  Gulab Mandal (20), said, “My sister Geeta and I are blind  while my younger brother is a Class XII student. Our mother   is a domestic help, but has no work in the lockdown. We  request the government to help us.”

Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/ngo-steps-in-with-ration-essential-items-for-disabled/articleshow/82891190.cms