School for deaf and dumb to be developed on modern lines: Div Com

30.03.2017, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, Baseer Ahmad Khan, Wednesday said that Deaf and Dumb School in Ram Bagh, Srinagar will be developed with modern facilities to provide better educational and accommodation facilities to the inmates.

The Divisional Commissioner was chairing a meeting to review the present status of the special school. Joint Director Department of Education, CEO Srinagar, Principal Deaf & Dumb School, Deputy Director Planning, and other concerned attended the meeting.

The meeting was informed that the Srinagar special school is the only facility for differently abled children in the valley which provides free of cost education along with hostel facility. The School presently serves 200 children including 67 differently-abled upto 10th standard and runs on the donation under the supervision of an independent managing committee. However, it was said that the donation is falling short of meeting daily expenses of these children.
On the occasion, the Div Com said that he will take up infrastructural and other requirements of the School with the Government. He directed the Education Department to work out modalities for upgrading the school to higher secondary level and provide specially trained teachers to the institute. Besides, he also asked the officers to start vocational training for these specially-abled children at the earliest.

He directed the Education Department to submit a DPR, in consultation with the Principal, envisaging state of art infrastructure, highly skilled trainer and other facilities. He asked the concerned to submit the DPR within 10 days so that the project can be finalized on priority.

Khan said that he will personally monitor the progress of the project and pay a visit to the school to review facilities being provided to the children.
Meanwhile, Divisional Commissioner Kashmir, also held a meeting with a team of Niti Aayog officials to discuss various matters regarding digital payments, transport problem and disaster management in the valley.

Advisor, Niti Aayog, Manoj Singh and Niti Aayog team member, Shahdaab, Deputy Director Planning and other concerned officials of divisional administration and Niti Aayog were present in the meeting.
Niti Aayog team was informed that the State government is organizing camps at block level for creating awareness about digital payments and for aadhaar enrolment.

Team was also briefed about the traffic problem in the valley especially in Srinagar city. It was said that AMRUT scheme has been launched in the valley and State Government has approved Smart City proposals with focus on water transport to decongest city roads. Besides, survey for Metro train and Semi ring road project is also being conducting from April 1, 2017 to tide over the growing transport problem.

Div Com urged the Niti Aayog team to send a team of experts to valley to study the transport problem for an expert opinion so that measures for smooth flow of transport across are taken.

Manoj Singh said that the Aayog has initiated measures for E-transport (electric battery operated vehicles) in 20 cities across India with expert advice from USA and in collaboration with entrepreneur interested in green transport. He said that Srinagar City will also be considered for e-transport in near future.
Informing the team about the vulnerability of the valley which falls in the seismic zone-v and was devastated by the floods in September, 2014, the Divisional commissioner urged Niti Aayog team to send an expert team to frame a well planed disaster management policy.

The team assured the Divisional Commissioner that expert teams would soon be send to valley for sorting out transport problem and helping in framing an effective disaster management policy.