Make IQ testing available at Abohar: Activist

A social activist, Vipan Sharma, has been fighting from pillar to post for over five years, demanding arrangements for an intelligence quotient (IQ) test to issue a Divyang certificate at the Abohar Civil Hospital. The facility has not so far been made available even at the Fazilka Civil Hospital.

Sharma said the Punjab Government had on January 26 claimed it was committed to the welfare of the Divyang persons, and to achieve this goal, 3,44,472 UDID cards had been issued to Divyang persons in the state till April 2024. However, he said, the wait for the IQ facility did not end even when he had brought the issue through local MLA Sandeep Jakhar to the notice of successive Directors of Health Services and Health Ministers.

He said medical officers at the local hospital by and large had been cooperative in clearing the process for Divyang certificates. He said Station Superintendent DN Goyal has also been cooperative. He added 42 Divyang certificates were issued in the past three weeks.

Sharma said 26 certificates were cleared by Dr Sanman Maji, five by Dr Lovely Kansal and 11 by Dr Mahesh Kumar of the Civil Hospital. He said railway travel passes were given to 20 applicants.

He said a mentally ill child has to be taken to Faridkot to get the IQ test done, adding that it cost a lot as Faridkot was 99 km away from Abohar. He said many families cannot afford the long journey as the child needs to be accompanied by the parents. He said special camps were organised by the district administration in the past; however, expert doctors could not be pursued to visit Abohar on such occasions. He demanded the IQ test facility be made available at Abohar and Fazilka district headquarters at least once a month.