KARACHI, Oct 15: Speakers at a function held here on Sunday in connection with the White Cane Safety Day urged motorists to take special care upon seeing a person carrying white cane crossing a road or passing by in order to ensure safety of the blind.

The White Cane Safety Day is observed globally on October 15 to express solidarity with blind people.

The function was organised by Jimmy Engineer, a noted artist and social worker, for the visually impaired children. More than 250 students of the Ida Rieu School and the College for the Blind and Deaf attended the function.

Jimmy Engineer, chief of the Ida Rieu Qudsia Khan and students of the school, Sohail,

Lubna and Shahnaz highlighted importance of the day at the function.

Expressing concern over the plight of the blind, they demanded due favour in education and employment extended to the visually impaired people so that they could play their role in the nation-building, as well as in improving and strengthening the country’s economy.

They noted that despite this respectable but helpless segment of the society being neglected, many a visually impaired people had demonstrated extraordinary courage and hard work in getting education and securing advanced degrees like MA, MPhil and even the PhD in their respective fields.

Many of them were leading a respectable life and playing their due role in society, they pointed out.

The speakers urged parents of the handicapped children not to feel shy or keep their special children indoors. Rather, they must encourage their handicapped wards in frequenting public places like playgrounds, parks, etc., so that they could intermingle with normal people.

They observed that in western countries, special citizens were getting special treatment with regard to basic and vital facilities, and regretted that in this country, they stood deprived of even fundamental rights and due favour. The speakers pointed out that although the government had fixed a quota for the special people in employment, it was not ensuring proper and full implementation of the same.

They also urged philanthropists to come forward and extend whatever kind of assistance they could to the institutes working for the development of educational and professional skills of to the special people.

They also suggested that more advanced gadgets helpful to the visually impaired people be made available to them and their prices be kept at lower side by levying no taxes and duties so that the handicapped people, most of them poor, could be able to use them and benefit from the advanced technology.

Mr Engineer, speaking on the occasion, said that he had been organising functions for the handicapped children for more than four years now, and the main purpose of this practice was to highlight the problems being faced by the special children, besides providing them an opportunity to have some fun on a regular basis.

He said that his programmes were aimed at increasing awareness of the issue and helping the society to do more for improving the quality of life of such people.

Saleem Qureshi, Zara and others recited naats whereas Shoaib, Mehmood, Ashir, Saad and others demonstrated their skills in Judo, Karate and Taekwando on the occasion.