Shaniwarwada on Thursday was witness to a unique march by the hearing and speech challenged to express their support to anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare’s fast.
Around 300, mostly young men and women, who walked from the Shivajinagar area to the historic fort, were found expressing their point in the form of placards that they were waving with energy.
Some of the protestors, who could speak a little, were trying their best to shout ‘Vande Mataram’, albeit in an unusual manner.
When Pune mayor Mohansingh Rajpal joined them for a brief moment, all of them huddled around him. The mayor lit candles with the Anna supporters.
Maharashtra Association of the Deaf president, Suresh Kale, who is not hearing and speech challenged, told DNA the rally was organised to show society that the hearing and speech challenged are not lagging behind.
With Kale as interpreter, one participant, Dhananjay Jagtap, told DNA, “We have joined the agitation to oppose corruption. The rise in prices of several commodities has made life difficult.”
Jagtap, who paints houses for a living, said that they neither get proper facilities nor jobs in spite of reservation.
