Medha Kale

Author

Sarbajaya Bhattacharya

Editor

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<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:&quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:29px;margin:0px 0px 20px;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">“I am very scared of these OTPs. Saha aakde ani paisa gayab [six digits and the money's gone],” Anil Thombre tells me on a busy State Transport bus stand, over the noise of bus horns, hawkers selling their snacks and bottled water and arrival and departure announcements. Someone asked him for an OTP (one time password) and he asked me to help.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:&quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:29px;margin:0px 0px 20px;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">He has heard about the budget, the arth sankalpa, in his words. “On January 31, there was some news about it on the radio. The government announces some provisions for each department. I know about it. If not all, at least rupayat daha paise [ten paise in a rupee]!” he says, slicing a betelnut with an adkitta.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:&quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:29px;margin:0px 0px 20px;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">He, rather, his red and white stick, leads the way to the canteen as we look for a quieter place. Thombre is a person with visual disability. He is well versed with the platforms, the crowd, the canteen counters and also the steps. “I was just one month old when I had measles and&nbsp; completely lost my eyesight, I am told.”

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<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:&quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:29px;margin:0px 0px 20px;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">A resident of Barul, a village with a population of around 2,500, 20 kilometres from Tuljapur town, Thombre plays the tabla and pakhwaj for a bhajani mandal, a group singing and performing devotional songs. The money offered by the organisers adds to his monthly disability pension of Rs. 1,000.&nbsp; “It never comes on time,” he says. Moreover, he has to travel to Tuljapur to collect it from the bank. Recently, he has been allotted a house under <a style="background-color:transparent;box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(255, 61, 8);text-decoration:none;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://pmayg.nic.in/netiayHome/home.aspx">Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana</a> and will soon start the work. “Even for that I need to get the first instalment in the bank account and for that I need that KYC done,” says 55-year-old Thombre.<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:&quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:29px;margin:0px 0px 20px;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Today, he is in Tuljapur to collect his clothes from the laundry, a service offered by his friend from Barul. “I am single and I do all the housework on my own. I cook and I fetch water from the tap. I am fed up with washing clothes, you know!” he says with a hearty laugh..<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:&quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:29px;margin:0px 0px 20px;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">For Thombre, “the mai-baap sarkar should look after everyone. But if you ask me, those like us, the disabled, should get a little more attention in the budget.”<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(51, 51, 51);font-family:&quot;Fira Sans&quot;, &quot;Open Sans&quot;, sans-serif;font-size:17px;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:29px;margin:0px 0px 20px;orphans:2;text-align:left;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;">Thombre does not know that the 2025 Union Budget speech does not mention disability or divyangjan or persons with disability, even once.

‘Mai-baap sarkar should look after everyone’

'అమ్మా-నాన్నల వంటి ప్రభుత్వం అందరినీ బాగా చూసుకోవాలి’

‘அப்பா-அம்மாவாக இருக்கும் அரசாங்கம் அனைவருக்குமாக இருக்க வேண்டும்’

'ਮਾਈ-ਬਾਪ ਨੂੰ ਸਾਰਿਆਂ ਦੀ ਤਕਲੀਫ਼ ਦਾ ਅੰਦਾਜ਼ਾ ਹੋਣਾ ਚਾਹੀਦਾ ਹੈ'

‘രക്ഷകർത്താവായ സർക്കാർ എല്ലാവരേയും പരിരക്ഷിക്കണം’

'ಸರ್ಕಾರ ಅಪ್ಪ-ಅಮ್ಮನಂತೆ, ಅದು ಎಲ್ಲರನ್ನೂ ಪೋಷಿಸಬೇಕು'

‘माई-बाप सरकार ला सब्बो के चेत धरे ला चाही’

‘माई-बाप सरकार के सबकर ध्यान रखे के चाहीं’

‘মাই-বাপ এই চৰকাৰখনে সকলোকে চাব লাগিব’

‘માઈ-બાપ સરકારે તો બધાયની સંભાળ રાખવી જોઈએ’

’مائی باپ سرکار کو سب کی فکر کرنی چاہیے‘

‘माय-बाप सरकारने सगळ्यांचाच विचार करायला पाहिजे’

‘माई-बाप सरकार को सबकी फ़िक्र करनी चाहिए’

‘ମାଇ-ବାପ୍‌ ସରକାର ସମସ୍ତଙ୍କ କଥା ବୁଝିବା ଉଚିତ୍‌’

'মাই-বাপ সরকারের তো সবারই দেখভাল করা উচিত'

 Osmanabad

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‘Mai-baap sarkar should look after everyone’

There are 26.8 million people with general disabilities in India and Anil Thombre, a musician from Dharashiv district, Maharashtra thinks they should get more attention in the Union Budget

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