CM Conrad Sangma highlights breakthrough reforms, launches new empowerment initiatives at EMPOWERFEST 3.0 in Shillong.
Shillong, Dec 3: Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma on Tuesday announced a series of measures to strengthen disability inclusion in the state as part of the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) observance held at the U Soso Tham Auditorium here.
Addressing the event, Sangma highlighted how Meghalaya has shifted from a charity-oriented approach towards a rights-based, dignity-driven disability framework, citing initiatives such as the Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project, which helped create the Eastern Brook Band comprising musicians with disabilities who now perform internationally, and the state’s first Disability Anthem, which he said has reshaped public perceptions.
The Chief Minister said the government had supported 30 PwD entrepreneurs and provided financial assistance of Rs 2.5 lakh each to eight of them. He said the state had also set up the Northeast’s first PwD-run Common Service Centre and launched Meghalaya’s first inclusive debate competition for neurodivergent students.
Sangma said 58 merit-based scholarships are awarded every year, benefitting 370 students so far. On accessibility, he said Meghalaya had fully implemented the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, made 41 government buildings barrier-free, and upgraded 84 government websites to ensure universal access.
He said more than 32,000 PwDs had been issued UDID cards, with coverage crossing 70%. A community-based rehabilitation network now operates in all districts and 46 blocks. District Resource Centres offering physiotherapy, speech therapy, audiology and early intervention services have also been set up, he added.
The CM highlighted the Meghalaya Sign Bank App, which contains 10,000 signs and has received national recognition. He said Meghalaya is the first state in the Northeast to integrate mental well-being into governance systems.
Sangma also cited cultural initiatives such as the Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project and the state’s first Disability Anthem, saying they had helped shift public perception.
Sangma praised several PwDs who have emerged as achievers across diverse fields, describing EMPOWERFEST 3.0 as a “movement that turned isolation into participation and sympathy into empowerment.” He urged citizens to help dismantle physical, digital, educational and economic barriers, and to ensure that “no dream is too distant, no voice too faint, and no ability too small to matter.
Outstanding PwDs were felicitated at the event. Awards for the EMPOWERFEST Inclusive Film Festival were presented, a K-9 sniffer dog unit was inaugurated, and an MoU was signed with Sankaradeva College for a statewide drug survey.
 observance held at the U Soso Tham Auditorium here.){kind=link}