Hearing impaired people to take out rally in Chennai demanding 'Amma Deaf School'

26.09.2016, CHENNAI: They can't shout or scream to be heard because their mother tongue is only a set of signs. Even if they talk using their sign language, no one bothers to listen to their worries. So they found a new way. At least 200 deaf people will walk from the Light House to the Labour Statue at the Marina beach on Sunday, urging the government to establish an "Amma Deaf School" in Chennai.

"Sign language provides an easy access for people like us to overcome the communication barrier. Despite being a very promising metro, Chennai doesn't have a government-run sign language teaching school for the deaf. It's unfortunate," saidV Swaminathan, general secretary of the Tamil Nadu State Federation of the Deaf.

Tamil Nadu has six government-run deaf schools but none of them are in Chennai. There are 15 private-run deaf schools in Tamil Nadu, among which eight are in Chennai. "In Chennai, most schools are run by private parties. If the government can establish an Amma Deaf School in Chennai, it will help us a lot," he said.

The rally is organized by the Tamil Nadu State Federation of the Deaf in association with the Madras Association of the Deaf, Deaf enabled Foundation and Association for the Deaf as part of the International Deaf Day, which is observed during the last week of September every year. The participants will stage a cultural show after the rally, to be held between 3 and 5:30 pm.