Olatpur (Orissa): Nearly 250 physically challenged children in Orissa were made to wait for more than five hours in the heat to meet President APJ Abdul Kalam.
The incident happened at a function organised by the Ministry of Social Justice for the National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research (NIRTAR) at Olatpur, near Bhubaneswar
Ironically the event was held for distributing artificial limbs to the children.
"My greatest feeling of happiness is when I saw smile in the face of those disabled children."
As the President was saying these words, Papuna Parida, a nine-year-old disabled boy collapsed and started vomiting.
After Parida many more children started vomiting and collapsing till the President himself intervened and came to their rescue.
The President immediately realised that something was wrong and took steps where the authorities had failed to. He ordered that the children be brought closer to the stage and made to sit in shade.
Even though the officials who had organised the programme were standing right beside the kids, they failed to realise that the children were in distress.
The institute, however, has apologised for the negligence. "We were very busy in organising the function and failed to notice the problem. I regret that very much," said Director NIRTAR, Dr B M Pradhan.
Though the entire administration of Orissa has been busy making arrangements for the President's programme for the last fifteen days, people say that the employees of NIRTAR should have at least taken care of the needs of the children, in whose honour the entire function was being organised.
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