Bhubaneswar: The beauty of exquisitely crafted artifacts and stunning showpieces reveal the beautiful minds of differently-abled people who have showcased their diverse skills at a Handicraft Bazaar on the occasion of 'International Day of Disabled Persons'.
Various schools and organisations working for differently-abled children have taken part in this fair. Physically and mentally challenged people have displayed a plethora of crafts from lovely wall hangings, paintings, house hold items to decorative sculptures in the stalls.
"This particular day is for celebration. We all have gathered here for empowerment and encouragement for persons with disability. We are organising various cultural and sports activities here," said speech pathologist Siba Prasad Sahoo.
There are some special stalls as well, showcasing the developmental works undertaken by various organisations for persons with disabilities. Special equipment to assist physically and mentally challenged people are also displayed by various organisations.
"Our organisation has been working for last thirty years. We train visually-challenged people and help them to move ahead in the mainstream. Most of the equipment at our stall are made by the students and some of them are collected from different places," said visually-impaired Jogendra Jani.
Another special stall has been set-up by international visually-impaired cricketer Mohammad Jafar Iqbal where the success story of blind cricketers of the state is displayed. He and other cricketers of Odisha are trying to make the visitors aware about their achievements.
Speaking to odishatv.in Jafar Iqbal said, "This stall is about cricket only. Many international players are from Odisha. People should know about the record of blind cricket in Odisha. People should come here and know what persons with disabilities can do. People should change their attitude that we can't do anything."
The three-day fair has been organised by the Social Security and Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities Department, Government of Odisha at Adivasi Exhibition Ground.
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