Karnataka: Gokak youth defies blindness; works in Belagavi civic body

Sumit Motekar, who is blind, is working as the Second Division Assistant (SDA) in the Health Division of the Belagavi Municipal Corporation. He is a role model for the common people.

Belagavi (Karnataka): 'Blindness' is not an obstacle if there is consistent hard work and dedication. A youth from the Belagavi region of Karnataka has yet again proved this point by securing a government job.

Sumit Motekar, who hails from Gokak, can easily type using a computer keyboard despite being blind. He is working as the Second Division Assistant (SDA) in the Health Division of the Belagavi Municipal Corporation. He is a role model for the common people.

Sumit, who is doing his duties using an application called 'Non-Desktop Visual Excel', turns on the computer, opens files and decides which file to edit. If an officer gives a call to his cell phone he responds through the 'Mobile Talkback' application to know about the call. Through this app, he can save calls received on his mobile without taking anyone's help.

He easily does work like typing office letters among others. Sumit successfully cracked the competitive examination following which he was appointed as SDA in 2021. He also studied the 'Computer in Advance Course'. Having got trained for six months in Advanced Excel, Advanced MS Word and other similar applications, he is working comfortably.

Before joining the Belgavi civic body, Sumit worked as an associate engineer at Hindustan Computer Center Limited in Hyderabad and Delhi. He has also represented Karnakata in Judo at the national-level competition. He has an interest in literature and has written lots of essays, stories and novels.

"I am happy to see that he is doing his duty like a normal person," Belagavi civic chief Ashoka Dudgunti told ETV Bharat. He said that Sumit's work was an inspiration to the other staff. His colleague Ujwala Hangaragekar said that Sumit does a good job like a normal person. "It is very rare to see a blind man working like this. We are very happy to work with him," added Hangargekar.

Sumit, on his part, said that upgrades in technology have helped him and he does not find it difficult to use computers. "My colleagues are also very cooperative," he added.