the goan I network
PANAJI
In April 2019, visually-impaired disability rights activist Ankit Jindal launched the app “Mera Mitra” to help persons with disability across the country but especially persons with visual impairment. On Tuesday, Jindal was in Goa to create awareness about the app, and help maximum people to benefit from it.
In a press conference in the city, Jindal explained the reason he designed the app. He said that while there were a lot of schemes for the visually-impaired across the country, most people were either not aware of these, or found it difficult to get access to verified information about the same. Through the app, Jindal hopes that people with visual impairment will be better informed about benefits they can avail of. “Information is the first step towards empowerment,” Jindal stressed.
A senior marketing executive in an IT company in Bengaluru, Jindal said that after the launch of the app earlier this year, 400 users have downloaded it.
The app is an interactive system which is Google-assisted. The app has a comprehensive list of all the rules, acts, concessions, scholarships, job reservations and schemes in each state pertaining to persons with disability (PswD.)
The application is available for free, and will always remain so, assured Jindal. For those with visual impairment, all they have to do is say “Talk to Mera Mitra” to the Google assistant in their phone, and the app will open. The answers to thousands of questions can already be found on the app.
Jindal hopes to make the app even more nationally relevant. As of now, information is available in English, but Jindal wants to add information in Hindi and other regional languages as well.
In Goa, Jindal has tied up with the Disability Rights Association of Goa (DRAG), where its president Avelino De Sa has promised to keep him updated about Goa-specific schemes, information or amendments.
