Bhubaneswar: The state Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SSEPD) department has directed the district Collectors to pull out all stops to ensure proper rehabilitation of persons living with leprosy in the state.
In a latest office order issued by the department, the SSEPD director, Susanta Mahapatra, has directed the Collectors to ensure compliance of the Supreme Court (SC) order regarding rehabilitation of persons with disabilities and ensure that they are not subjected to any kind of discrimination.
The department has drawn the attention of the Collectors towards some of the adverse reports regarding the living standards of leprosy affected people and apprised them of the concerns raised by the civil society. According to the order, issues like lack of social security assistance to such people, ownership of pucca houses in leprosy colonies in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Sambalpur and Berhampur and thrust on education among others were raised by the social outfits.
The Association of People Affected by Leprosy in Odisha had also sent a letter to the Chief Minister earlier this year citing the prevailing conditions of the leprosy affected people. The letter says, “There are 92 self-settled leprosy colonies in several parts of the state. However, people in these colonies are reportedly staying in pitiable conditions due to the social stigma and discrimination they face. Human rights are being violated and rehabilitation work has taken a backseat.”
In its order, the SC had asked the states to ensure that special initiatives are taken to prevent any kind of discrimination against such persons. It had asked the states to ensure that free medicines for leprosy patients do not go out of stock, steps are taken to spread public awareness, proper treatment of their deformity, inclusion of topics on awareness of the disease in school syllabi among others.
However, this set of directives is allegedly being ignored by many state governments.
The SSEPD department has asked the Collectors to ensure that these directives of the SC are complied with to ensure rightful treatment of the leprosy affected people.
