NGO objects to UT admn decision to convert Cheshire Home
Says move would require shifting of physically challenged people from here
A local non-governmental organisation (NGO), in a letter to the UT administration, has objected to its recent decision to convert the Cheshire Home in Sector 21 as a group home for persons with mental health issues.
Sharmita Bhinder, founder of NGO EmPOWER, which is associated with another NGO, Wheel Chair Cricketers Punjab, said the move would require shifting of physically challenged people living there to accommodate the new inmates.
“It is our aspiration to have a training academy for wheelchair sports in what was formerly Cheshire Home so that people like us can find a safe haven where they can bring their ambitions to fruition,” wrote Veer Singh, president of the Wheel Chair Cricketers Punjab, in the letter.
“Therefore, if you want to hand this place over to an NGO, please do so to us as we have worked very hard to take care of it and maintain it,” Veer Singh added.
He also contested the administration’s claim that they were “encroaching” up on the Cheshire Home.
UT adviser Manoj Parida, secretary social welfare Yashpal Garg, director social welfare Navjot Kaur and UT chief engineer Mukesh Anand inspected the Cheshire Homes on Wednesday to see if it could be used as a group home for people with mental health issues.