The annual march of people with disabilities under the slogan «For a decent future for Kyrgyzstan» has started in Bishkek.
As one of the participants, Askar Turdugulov, said, it is held for the tenth time. «This year, representatives of five regions and with different forms of disabilities are participating in the march, not only wheelchair users as it was before,» he said.
According to him, the march is being held in order to attract the attention of society, the state and once again remind about the life of people with disabilities, as well as to eradicate stereotypes and stigmas.
Mayor of Bishkek, Aibek Dzhunushaliev, attended the opening ceremony of the march. He greeted the participants and noted that he understood the importance of what the organizers and participants wanted to draw attention to.
«It is gratifying that this march begins at a zero kilometer marker in the capital. The City Hall is making great efforts to improve the city. But the more we do, the more shortcomings we see and try to eliminate them. For example, the recent road repairs. When discussing with contractors, giving instructions, technical specifications, we always say to create favorable conditions for residents with disabilities, so that they do not have to lift wheelchairs from one sidewalk to another,» the mayor said.
When shortcomings are detected, the municipality tries to eliminate them, he added. As an example he cited Ala-Too square, which was recently reconstructed. «There are ramps at the correct angle inside the square, but they are missing on the main staircases, this is shortcoming. And we raised this issue with the contractors,» Aibek Dzhunushaliev emphasized.
He explained why he focused on such issues in his speech. «Everything starts with little things. When we conducted the analysis, we saw that all the ramps in the capital are different, but at the same time we say that we must comply with the standards,» the mayor concluded.
