Agartala, December 2 (TIWN): Alongwith world, World Disabled Day will be observed in the state tomorrow. To mark this occasion, a sports competition was organized among the disabled persons at Umakanta Mini Stadium, here today.

World Disabled Day will be observed in Tripura along with the whole world on December 3. On account of this, a preparatory meeting was held at the office of the Social Welfare and Social Education Department few days ago.  The meeting was headed over by the Social Welfare and Social Education Minister Bijita Nath, Secretary of the respective department and other dignitaries. In the meeting it was decided to observe the World Disable day at Rabindra Bhawan premises. Other than that it was also decided to hold a sport competition on 2nd December at Umakanta Mini Stadium. Social Welfare and Social Education Minister Bijita Nath and Sports Minister Shahid Choudhury had attended the programme as Special Guest.

After the inaugural, Bijita Nath told that, the NGO’s are actively taking part in the welfare and development of the disabled persons. But inspite of that more stress would be laid for them. Other than that infrastructure of the different schools for disabled persons should be developed. While Sports Minister Shahid Chowdhury had stressed upon the issue that this kind of programmes will not be organized once a year, but after every few months.

As a part of it, earlier a painting competition was also held on behalf of the “Abhoynagar Punarbashan Samiti” premises. The winners will be announced on the scheduled day.

Around 15% of the world's population, or one billion people, live with disabilities. People are often unaware of the great number of persons living with disabilities around the world and the challenges they face.

Persons with disabilities, "the world's largest minority", often face barriers to participation in all aspects of society. Barriers can take a variety of forms, including those relating to the physical environment or to information and communications technology (ICT), or those resulting from legislation or policy, or from societal attitudes or discrimination. The result is that persons with disabilities do not have equal access to society or services, including education, employment, health care, transportation, political participation or justice. The day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilize support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. It also seeks to increase awareness of gains to be derived from the inclusion of persons with disabilities in every aspect of life.