Special persons with spinal cord injuries both men and women in Shangla have been facing problems in visiting hospitals, government, and private offices for their work.
According to Hussain Ali, a physically differently-abled from Pirabad, Shangla over 200 SCI persons are registered with him and their complete data available with him mostly injured in coalmine incidents.
Hussain Ali said including the main center which they visit every month for stipends, Baitulmal and social welfare departments have not even constructed ramps for wheelchairs nor established washrooms for special persons.
He said whenever they visited the tehsil council office in Alpuri, they waited for the tehsil chairman and other officials until they came offices as their wheelchairs could not move on the stairs.
Ruqia Bibi, a spinal cord-injured woman in Shahpur, Shangla complained about the lack of ramps and a washroom facility in their hospital at Karora Hospital, Shangla causing problems for them.
“We deserve the same rights normal, physically fit people enjoy, therefore the government should ensure wheelchair ramps and washroom facilities at the government hospitals and offices for our smooth access,” MS Ruqia said.
She said except banks, none of any government offices constructed ramps considering handicapped persons.
Mozdalifa, an elderly spinal cord, the handicapped woman from Chakisar said on the one hand, the government ignored them in their stipends from the Baitulmal and Social Welfare Department, on the other, the government did not construct Wheelchair ramps in the government offices where they could register their complaints and ask for legitimate rights.
She said they wanted their basic rights to be ensured in the government hospitals, offices, and non-government offices so that they did not face problems in visiting for their work.
Tehsil chairman, Alpuri, Waqar Ahmad Khan when contacted, told this scribe that the government had never provided funds to them since they took oath as tehsil chairman.
He said if funds were not available, how they work and construct wheelchair ramps and initiates other projects in hospitals, offices, however, he assured that he would do it upon receiving funds from the government.
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