Access to shopping centers and public transport: what concerns residents of Pavlodar region with special needs

The head of the region Abylkair Skakov met with public figures who represent the interests of people with special needs.

         First of all, the participants paid tribute to the memory of the famous Pavlodar public figure Georgy Chetverikov. As an adviser to the akim of Pavlodar region, he has for many years contributed to solving the problems of residents of the region with special needs. The case of Georgy Mikhailovich as an adviser to the head of the region will be continued by Yulia Petruseva, deputy head of the regional powerlifting federation among athletes with a lesion of the musculoskeletal system.

         Speaking about the support provided to people with disabilities in the region, Abylkair Skakov noted that about 1.3 billion tenge has been allocated for it this year. Since this year, technical means and necessary services have been implemented through a special portal, and today more than 60% of the received orders have already been fulfilled.

         - However, as we all understand, there is a whole complex of problems behind this seemingly optimistic statistics, - the mayor noted. - We have already started solving some of these problems, we have not yet reached some issues. One of the key tasks is to create a barrier-free environment. Many people believe that a ramp or lifting device solves the issue of access for people with special needs. But there are still a number of technical elements: tactile guide strips, mnemonic diagrams, pictograms, call buttons and more. In the region, 1,739 objects were checked for full accessibility for all categories of persons with disabilities. Unfortunately, none of them met the requirements 100%. Now the work on the adaptation of objects is underway, but we must admit that it is still far from perfection. In any case, we will not dwell on what is there. We must strengthen this work.

         The chairman of the society" Compassion " Elena Yurchenko agreed that today most of the facilities in the region are inaccessible to people with special needs. First of all, according to her, this applies to inner-city buses and shopping houses. The social activist also complained that wheelchair users can not fully walk along the embankment of Pavlodar and swim on the central city beach.

         - Disabled children and adults should have the same rights as other Pavlodar residents, - Elena Yurchenko said. - In the case of the beach, we are not talking about big money. All you need is a special wheelchair and a plank path along which you could go down into the water. We have already said all this, but the issue has not been resolved.

         The head of the region gave relevant instructions to the responsible state bodies and demanded to move to the real adaptation of public transport and shopping centers to the needs of people with special needs.

Representatives of the non-governmental sector also drew attention to the fact that new buildings continue to be erected in the region without taking into account the needs of people with disabilities.

         - Apparently, some kind of training is needed for representatives of the construction sector, because they do not seem to know the requirements of the legislation. We are always trying to achieve something, but they still do everything wrong,- said Alexandra Sharonova, Executive Director of the «Tandau Foundation».

         The governor of the region assured that the issue will be taken under control, and instructed to draw up an action plan that will actually solve the problems raised.

 

Press service of the Akim of Pavlodar region

Photo by Valery Bugaev