Minister for SC, ST and Persons with Disabilities Welfare Adluri Lakshman Kumar on Sunday said Braille textbooks, currently available only up to Class X, would soon be extended to Intermediate and Degree levels to ensure uninterrupted education for visually impaired students.

Expressing concern that the lack of Braille material beyond Class X was forcing many students to discontinue their studies, the Minister said discussions had already been held with officials. Steps were being initiated to provide Braille textbooks at higher levels, and a Government Order would be issued shortly to address the issue.

He assured that all matters relating to persons with disabilities within his administrative scope would be resolved promptly, while other issues would be taken up with Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy to ensure full support and implementation. The Minister was speaking at the 217th birth anniversary celebrations of Louis Braille, held at the office of the Department for the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities at Malakpet. He paid floral tributes to the statue of Louis Braille and later addressed the gathering, describing Braille as a visionary who transformed blindness from a limitation into an opportunity. He said Braille symbolised not just an individual, but a global movement towards inclusion and dignity.

Adluri Lakshman Kumar noted that the people’s government had completed two years, while he had completed six months as minister. During this period, he said, the government had worked with focus and commitment to address long-pending issues of persons with disabilities. He reiterated that persons with disabilities were empowered citizens entitled to equal opportunities, dignity and job security.

During the programme, the Minister spoke to Transport Minister Ponnam Prabhakar regarding challenges faced by persons with disabilities in public transport and said the proposal for free bus travel across the State would soon be discussed at the Chief Minister’s level. Cultural performances by students with disabilities from Karimnagar district were appreciated by the audience. On the occasion, the Minister released the State’s first-ever New Year calendar printed in Braille and distributed musical instruments to students to encourage creative talent.

He added that assistive devices would soon be distributed free of cost to around 8,000 beneficiaries through the Telangana State Corporation for the Welfare of Persons with Disabilities.