THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Shutters were downed on the two centres of Insight, an initiative of the Kerala State IT Mission to develop ICT tools for the differently-abled, on Wednesday, pushing hundreds of lesser fortunate children and their parents to uncertainty. The IT Department had not renewed the contract of Insight programme which ended in August 2011 and with no funds to meet the expenses, the programme was destined to face a tragic end.Insight initially began for the visually challenged in 2007, when many such youngsters got to learn computers at its centre at Vellayambalam, free of cost. Gradually, it began developing tools for the physically-challenged, especially autistic children, for whom reading and activity-oriented syllabus and training were brought out by Insight. It was on December 3, on the occasion of World Disability Day last year that its centre at Murinjapalam was started. For months now, the Insight centres at Vellayambalam and Murinjapalam have been in deep financial crisis. Twice, the electricity connections were snapped as the bills were pending. That time, the IT Mission had intervened and paid the power bills but nothing was done to renew the programme itself. On Wednesday, a group of students, trainers and parents once again met IT Minister P K Kunhalikutty, who assured the group that Insight would not be wound up. ‘’We have been meeting the Minister and other officials for some time now. While they keep promising that it would not come to an end, there has been no solid move to rescue the project. We have been stranded, for people like me the programme was more than a job,” says Rajesh, a trainer at Insight. He, being visually-challenged, had joined Insight as a student and then become trainer for people like him. Parents of the differently-abled children are also in a dilemma. ‘’Had there been other centres like this where we could leave our kids safe, in a hygienic condition, in an ambience where they learn, that too at such minimal fees, we wouldn’t have been so agitated. In our society, differently-abled children are a responsibility of their parents alone, the state is not concerned. But at Insight we felt there was somebody to share our concern,” says Jayapalan, a PWD official and father of Jayakrishnan, a differently-abled child who has been learning at the centre for the last one year. Insight is a joint initiative of IT Mission and SPACE. According to sources, many allegations were raised against the free software-based Insight programme when the change in government happened, including fund misappropriation.Alleged connections of SPACE with Arunkumar, son of Opposition Leader V S Achuthanandan, also made matters worse for Insight, which had to bear the brunt of the controversies. The apathy of a few officials to the humanitarian side of the programme is what has brought its end. The Insight officials are a helpless lot. ‘’We have been assured support, but that would not be able to keep it running. Unless the contract is renewed and funds come, the programme would not move. We were forced to wind up,” said an official with Insight.
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