June 08, 2007	Friday	Jamadi-ul-Awwal 22, 1428

MUZAFFARGARH, June 7: Muzaffargarh has become the first district in the province where Disabled Rehabilitation Ordinance, 1981 has been enforced, claims EDO (Community Development) Malik Khair Muhammad Budh.

Earlier, out of 180 industrial units in the district, only two mills were following the ordinance, he said.

According to the law, all industries have to allocate two per cent job quota for special persons. In case they have no disabled employees, they have to give two per cent of their money set aside for salaries to the district government.

The EDO said: “At present only Hashir Textile Mills have employed 19 disabled people and Madina Jute Mills 16 while Kot Addu Power Company is giving Rs50,000 per month to the district government for rehabilitation.”

At the moment, there are 1,485 special people in Muzaffargarh, according to a social welfare department official. The department has no data as to how many people had been given jobs in industries.

Abdul Khaliq, who lost his leg in a bus accident, told this reporter wherever he went for a job, he was kicked out. He said in some cases the mills administration instead of providing him a job, gave him Rs100 to Rs200 as charity. He said: “I wanted only a job and nothing else.”