To get a prosthetic limb attached or fix a hearing aid, residents of Dhubri will longer have to travel to Guwahati.

The Dhubri District DisabilityRehabilitation Centre was inaugurated at the district civil hospitalrecently, two years after the project was sanctioned by the ministry ofsocial justice and empowerment.

In January this year, the Centre releasedRs 12.14 lakh, which Bharat Vikash Parishad, an NGO working for thewelfare of disabled people, used to set up the centre.

The rehabilitation centre will work outof four rooms on the Dhubri Civil Hospital complex, which the districtadministration provided after receiving guidelines from the ministry ofsocial justice and empowerment.

President of disability rehabilitationcentre, Raj Kumar Mohato, said at present, eight facilities would beavailable at the centre.

Physiotherapy for joint pain, speechtherapy for spastic children, mobility instruction for the visuallyhandicapped, speech therapy for people with hearing and speechdisabilities, will be among the expertise that the centre will offer.

Ear module, minor repair of hearing aidmachine, crutches, shoes, artificial limb physiotherapy for mentallyretarded people are some of the other facilities that will be availableat the centre.

“The grant-in-aid amounting Rs 12.14 lakhreceived from the Union government for implementing the project hasbeen kept in a joint savings bank account with the districtadministration in the Dhubri main branch of State Bank Of India. Westressed on the transparency of funds and its utilisation at alllevels,” Mohato said.

Of the Rs 12.14 lakh, Rs 5 lakh has beenused for purchase of equipment and another Rs 5.64 lakh has beenearmarked for the honorariaof 10 technical and non-technical staff.

Besides, the Dhubri zila parishadsanctioned Rs 2 lakh for renovation of the hospital building. Butbefore expanding the services, chairman of the rehabilitation centre,Jatindra Lahakar, urged the Bharat Vikash Parishad and thesocialwelfare department to conduct a survey on the needs of physicallychallenged people in the district.