Ekta empowers wheelchair-bound people

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Ekta, a campaign to empower  wheelchair-bound people started by Eric Stephen, KSU state secretary, is going places now.  NSUI national president Fairoz Khan has asked Stephen, 27,  to implement it in all colleges in Delhi University. Ekta was  launched by  Stephen along with Soulfree run by former Tamil Nadu women’s cricket team captain Preethi Sreenivasan. Stephen from Thiruvananthapuram was supported by  the KSU led by K. M. Abhijith. It aims at converting  public places like schools and colleges, bus stands and shopping malls to wheel chair-friendly areas.  

The Ekta logo was  launched by  former chief minister Oommen Chandy in June. Mr  Chandy procured three electric wheel chairs costing Rs 1.80 lakh on Saturday. This would soon be handed over to George K. Thomas, 34, a paraplegic, and wheel chair-bound students Ananthu of Kendriya Vidyalaya, Pattom,  and Nincy Mariam Mondly, a public administration graduate. “The GST  has hit the wheel chair users. Chandy  brought  the electric wheel chair from Gujarat. Ekta has been launched in all the districts with the blessings of KSU state leadership. When I briefed the Ekta’s work to the NSUI president, he was keen to replicate it in all the colleges under the Delhi University,”  said Eric, a mechanical engineering graduate. He had gone to New Delhi to supervise the college elections there on September 12.  The NSUI has taken up  Ekta as a  campaign theme.