In Temirtau, residents of an apartment building have been asking the city akimat for four years to install a ramp for people with disabilities, reports infohub.kz.
According to KTK TV channel, people with disabilities received housing under a state program but have effectively become prisoners in their own apartments. Residents say they have been seeking help from the akimat for four years but have not been heard.
Yelena Kokh lost a leg due to illness. Previously an active woman, she has no intention of slowing down: at a center for people with disabilities, she takes dance and tennis classes. The only limitation is the entrance to her own building. Without her husband's help, Yelena cannot go outside, though she very much wants to.
"Even five steps. Going down is more or less possible, but going up is much harder. Well, you know the strain. It's very hard. I have a pile of papers: 'We'll help, we'll help' — from the akimat and the housing department. But that's all. Over these four years, three akims have changed. Maybe that's related too," Kokh says.
One floor above lives Elmira Sultanbekova. She alone cares for her 23-year-old son, who has cerebral palsy. For them, going outside is a major event, and they cannot do it without help.
According to the report, the akimat advised them to install the ramp at their own expense. But the small family barely has enough from benefits to cover medicine and rehabilitation.
"We were offered a choice of apartments, but we chose the second floor because it's warmer than the first. Because we can't afford to get sick. But I thought there would be a ramp here. My son isn't the only one in a wheelchair here. They knew who they were building this house for," added Elmira Sultanbekova.
The city akimat said it had not seen the residents' appeals for some reason. But now they say they are aware of the problem. However, they will not be able to install the ramp this year. They may find funds next year.
"Initially, the design and estimate documentation included a ramp, but then the project was revised and it was removed, deemed unnecessary. Now it turns out to be needed. Appeals only started coming in recently. Therefore, next year when planning the budget, we will request money for installing ramps," commented Saule Kanysheva, head of the housing sector at the Temirtau Department of Housing and Communal Services.