Nashik :

Nashik Municipal Corporation (NMC) is poised to start the first physiotherapy centre for the handicapped in the city soon.

The education department of the corporation will be starting a free physiotherapy centre in its Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan Centre at school number 96 along the Gangapur road. Preparations, including painting and carpeting of the special room for the centre, are underway following which the department will appoint a physiotherapist, a speech therapist, an acupressure therapist and a psychologist to start the centre.

“Under the Right To Education Act, there is a provision to include handicapped children in mainstream education. Keepig that in mind, the state government introduced the scheme in the schools of all the districts and municipal corporation limits for Rs 39.45 lakhs. Handicapped children in the age group 0-18 years of all schools can avail this facility,” informed education officer of NMC Nitin Upasani. The instruments have already been provided by the Maharashtra Primary Education Council. Floor matting, measuring tapes, stop watches, wall bars, frog swings, platform swings, rope ladders,special boards for leg exercises, multi-purpose walkers, tricycles, surgical hammers, non-slip mats, multi-exercise sets, adjustable cane sticks, adjustable elbow crutchesand wobble boards are among the 64 instruments provided by the education council. The work for colouring has been assigned and in a couple of days the colouring would be over.

The officials of the education department said there were roughly 1,656 handicapped students in private and corporation schools within the city limits who will be catered by the physiotherapy centre. Upasani informed that NMC was one among the few civic bodies in the state to start the facility.

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / Home> City> Nashik / by Sumita Sarkar, TNN / January 31st, 2013