
Govt helps 214 children receive hearing implants
Lucknow: In 2024-25, the state govt assisted 214 hearing-impaired children to get cochlear implants under its surgical grant scheme.
Under the scheme, Rs 10,000 is provided to differently-abled persons for 21 different kinds of surgeries and up to Rs 6 lakh for cochlear implants.
"In 2024-25 alone, 214 hearing-impaired children received implants worth Rs 12.84 crore, which greatly enhanced their quality of life. The initiative is a vital step toward empowering divyangjans and promoting their self-reliance. Beyond financial aid, the scheme fosters social inclusion by enabling access to transformative procedures like cochlear implants and surgeries like corneal plasticity and post-polio correction," said a govt spokesperson.
The department of empowerment of persons with disabilities is responsible for implementing the scheme. The department is working to identify eligible beneficiaries under the initiative, particularly those from economically weaker sections who cannot afford high-cost surgeries.
Minister of state (independent) for backward classes welfare and divyangjan empowerment Narendra Kashyap said: "In the previous financial year, 214 children from 63 districts received cochlear implants. We are working towards expanding and strengthening the scheme so that more Divyangjans can benefit from it and ensure inclusive and equitable development in Uttar Pradesh."

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Hans India
9 minutes ago
- Hans India
Sandalwood policy to be simplified soon: Eshwar Khandre
Mysore: The frontline staff of the department play a major role in forest, wildlife conservation and green development. It is not wrong to say that 21 percent of the forest remains in the state today due to their efforts, said Forest Ecology and Environment Minister Eshwar B Khandre. Speaking after distributing safety kits to the frontline staff of the Mysuru division of the Forest Department with the corporate responsibility support of Karnataka Soap and Detergent Limited (KSDL) under the Department of Industries, he said that the work being done by the frontline staff in preventing forest encroachment, extinguishing forest fires and preventing wildlife poaching is commendable. That is why, he said, he has ordered after becoming the minister to provide food allowance along with salary to the forest and forest wealth guarding staff, regardless of day or night, cold, rain or wind, and to provide an additional risk allowance of Rs 2,000 per month, and it is being implemented. Canteen for forest staff: There is a demand that canteen facilities be provided to forest staff similar to military and police personnel. He said that he has already appealed to the Chief Minister in this regard and that efforts will be made to extend the existing police canteen facility to forest staff as well. Karnataka has a rich forest region. The Western Ghats are a favorite destination for biodiversity. Its conservation and enhancement is the responsibility of all of us. He said that the frontline staff is doing the work of protecting it. Today, human-wildlife conflict is increasing and the forest area is decreasing. The government is working hard to increase the forest, and in the last 2 years, 15,000 acres of land has been newly notified as forest area. Eshwara Khandre said that more than 6,000 acres of forest encroachment worth thousands of crores of rupees have been cleared across the state, including 128 acres worth Rs 4,000 crore in Bengaluru. He said that a total of 120,975 hectares of plantations, 25 new Tree park and 35 Devara Kadu or Sacred Groves have been created during 2023-24 and 2024-25. The minister praised the Karnataka Soap and Detergents (KSDL) for providing safety kits containing bags, jars, shoes and water bottles to 10,000 frontline forest personnel across the state, and thanked Infrastructure Development Minister MB Patil and KSDL President CS Nadagowda for their role in this. Simplification of Sandalwood Policy: KSDL has advocated the need for sandalwood oil. Farmers in the state are also growing sandalwood. Sandalwood policy will be simplified and a notification will be issued soon to allow them to harvest and transport sandalwood. He said that the Forest Department will take steps to grow sandalwood trees in the plantation. Today, due to global warming and climate change, the rain that should fall in a month is falling in a week, a week's rain is falling in one day, creating a disaster. Therefore, we should emphasize on increasing the green area. We should grow trees, he said. Industries Minister M.B. Patil, legislator Yathindra Siddaramaiah, KSDL President C.S. Nadagowda, Chief Wildlife Warden and Principal Chief Conservator of Forests Subhash Malkade, APCCF Kumar Puskar, Wildlife Board Member Dhruva Patil and others participated in the program.


United News of India
12 minutes ago
- United News of India
PM Modi inaugurates world's highest Chenab rail bridge in Reasi
Katra (J&K), June 6 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated the world's highest Chenab rail bridge in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir. The PM was accompanied by Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union minister Dr Jitendra Singh, Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. Before the inauguration, the PM inspected the bridge and spoke to the engineers and the labourers, who turned the dream into a reality. The Chenab rail bridge is the architectural marvel; it is located at a height of 359 meters above the river, and is the world's highest railway arch bridge. It is a part of the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link (USBRL) project. The 1,315-metre-long steel arch bridge is built to withstand seismic and wind conditions. A key impact of the bridge will be in enhancing connectivity between Jammu and Srinagar. Through the Vande Bharat train moving on the bridge, it will take just about 3 hours to travel between Katra and Srinagar, reducing existing travel time by 2-3 hours. The 272-km USBRL project is built at a cost of around Rs 43,780 crore, and includes 36 tunnels (spanning 119 km) and 943 bridges. The project establishes all-weather, seamless rail connectivity between the Kashmir Valley and the rest of the country, aiming to transform regional mobility and drive socio-economic integration. UNI VBH ARN PRS


Time of India
13 minutes ago
- Time of India
PM Modi flags off Katra-Srinagar Vande Bharat Express
Katra: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday flagged off a Vande Bharat train service between Katra and Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, the first train connection between the Kashmir valley and the Jammu region. Modi inaugurated the train in the presence of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Jammu and Kashmir LG Manoj Sinha, and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, among others. According to Northern Railway, the train has two travelling classes -- Chair Car (CC) and Executive Class (EC) -- with tickets costing Rs 715 and Rs 1,320, respectively.