Mysuru: The District Disability Rehabilitation Centre (DDRC) that provides comprehensive rehabilitation services to persons with disability at grassroots level is crying for attention with the State Government turning a blind eye to the plight of the institution. It is bogged down with several problems with fund crunch being the main one. 

The Centre is located on the campus of Government Deaf and Dumb School in Tilaknagar on Pulakeshi Road and a visitor to the institute realises the mess if he/she goes around the building. The building looks in a dilapidated state with broken windows, rusted iron gate and weed-dominated campus with a rusting tempo traveller being an eyesore. 

The District Disability Rehabilitation Centre has 13,131 registered members and has conducted 11,395 follow-up cases. It provides rehabilitation including education, employment, vocational training, reservation, research, manpower development and creation of barrier-free environment among others. Despite good intention behind establishment of the institute, it has suffered utter neglect without funds released by the Government. 

Sources told Star of Mysore that earlier, the institute functioned under Central Government and as such, funds allocation was smooth. Now it comes under State Government and money is hard to come by. 

The Centre has conducted around 2,450 camps (awareness, assessment and distribution programmes) in rural and urban areas of Mysuru and undertaken 2,521 counselling sessions regarding educational facilities and services available for special kids.  

The Centre provides critical therapeutic services like physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, auditory training, counselling etc. provides referral and arrangement of surgical correction through Government and charitable Institutes and counsels persons with disabilities, their parents and family members. Despite all this, the Rehabilitation Centre is facing utter neglect and needs urgent attention.