Army adopts 'deaf and mute' village in J&K

Bhaderwah (J-K): A month after distributing hi-tech specialised hearing aids among the deaf and mute villagers of Dadhaki in Doda district, the Army has gone a step ahead and adopted the village to address the concerns of its people.

The hilltop tribal village, 105 km from Bhaderwah town, is home to 105 families. Of these, 55 families mysteriously have at least one person who can neither speak nor listen.

There are 78 such people in the village, of which 41 are women and 30 children aged three to 15 years. An Army spokesman said its Rashtriya Rifles has adopted the village in order to ensure the overall welfare of the population, with multiple social security programmes aimed at giving them the confidence to survive and make a living on their own.

In the first step, besides looking after their basic needs such as clothing, food and healthcare, the Army has begun door-todoor personalized teaching classes for the mute children by deploying sign language experts who have been specially trained in Telangana, the spokesman said.

In the next step of the ongoing scheme, a school with a hostel facility will be provided in Dadhkai panchayat, he said. “To teach them the best possible sign language, two teachers were sponsored by the Army to get specialised training,” the spokesman said. — PTI