Demography and status of PWDs in J&K
As per census 2011 our state has around 361000 population of persons with disabilities but various researches depict that our state has around 6 lakhs population of persons with disabilities with 120000 orthopedic disable persons and around 90000 persons facing mild to severe types of mental illness disabilities. Orthopedic disabilities are on lager increase due to the armed conflict and allied political disturbances. As the women and children are highly vulnerable to mental illnesses, thus thousands of episodes that claimed death of husband, father, brother or son in a family, rendered one or other family member mentally ill.
Blindness also is at a high, as per census 2011 around 68000 persons with blindness are there in the state. 92777 persons in JK have speech and hearing disabilities. Out of total 361253 disable population there are 233973 persons with different types of disabilities belonging to Kashmir province and 127180 persons with different disabilities in Jammu province. In Kashmir province the males have 55.51% of disability and females have 44.49% of disability. In Jammu Province the male ratio is 58.91% and female ratio is 41.09%
Persons with disabilities in J&K face immense barriers thus they do not enjoy access to society on an equal basis with others, which includes areas of transportation, employment, and education as well as social and political participation.
Education:
Only one service was given to children with different disabilities at district level by the department of education that is the resource rooms were established to provide education to them through, Braille, sign language and other techniques under concept of relaxed curriculum but the maximum 6 resource persons available in one district level and resource persons or special educators employed through state project director Sarva Shikhsha Abhiyan and RMSA are working in different offices and those resource rooms are defunct. The children with disabilities mostly blind and deaf who were taking benefit of these special educators are now in schools where the general line teachers too are worried how to create inclusive educational system for these children with disabilities
Presently 85% children with disabilities in J&K without any educational facilities
Employment
On one hand we have less educational facilities but on the other a larger number of youth with disabilities, who overcome immense challenges and attain higher qualifications, face difficulties to attain employment. The recruiting agencies, like Public Service Commission and State Services Recruitment Board ignore the recruitment of educated youth with disabilities. Even there is no mention of disability category in the notifications of these recruiting agencies.
Social Security & Rehabilitation
It is important to keep in mind that disability is part of the human condition, and that all of us either are, or may become disabled to one degree or another during the course of our lives. Government of J&K has been providing social security pension to many underprivileged sections of society. Rs 1000
For skill development the Vocational Rehabilitation centre for persons with disabilities was established in Srinagar some decade back, with the mandate to empower persons with disabilities by giving them skill trainings. But the centre was accommodated in a hut on the campus of Government Polytechnic College Srinagar. The centre failed to provide skill training to persons with disabilities.
Accessibility
Persons with disabilities in Jammu and Kashmir state face barriers and have almost no access to government buildings, hospitals, educational institutions, Courts, footpaths and transport. Even the concerned offices where persons with disabilities have to reach for the redress of their grievances lack ramps, elevators, signs boards and other forms of accessibility; thus persons with disabilities do not reach these places independently or with dignity.