People with disabilities showcase their talent

Kolkata: The 19th edition of East Zone Regional Abilympics kicked-off at the Indian Institute

of Training and Development where people with disabilities (PwDs) show cased their talent on Friday. "I am determined to win the competition this year. Last year, I won the state-level competition but did not qualify the national level," said Sunil Pandey, a participant hailing from Howrah who can't speak properly due to speech impairment.

The PwDs, between the age group of 18 and 35, participated in CAD Architecture, Desktop Publishing, Character Designing, E-Sport, Tailoring, Floral Arrangement, Beauty Therapy, Jewellery Making, Bakery and Cooking competition. "I came from Patna to participate in the Tailoring competition. I am working very hard to represent India at the national level," said polio victim Md Shamim Alam. Participants from West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Arunachal Pradesh , Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura took part in the event.

The National Level Abilympics will be held in Delhi. The winners of National Level Abilympics will represent India at International Abilympics to be held in Russia in 2020. On Saturday, the last day of the 19th edition of East Zone Regional Abilympics hosted by the National Abilympics Association of India under the aegis of Sarthak Educational Trust, an exclusive job fair for the PwDs will be conducted at Vocational Rehabilitation Centre for Handicapped in Bidhannagar.