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Floating wheelchairs for elderly at Dubai beaches
The municipality has also formed a team of lifeguards and trainers to ensure the safety of the special users.
Entering the beach water, let alone floating or swimming, has always been a dream for people with disabilities, but not any more.
Dubai’s public beaches in Al Mamzar and Jumeirah have become the first beaches in the region to offer the service of 15 floating wheelchairs to fulfill the desires of the elderly and the disabled to splash some water and enjoy on the beach.
The Dubai Municipality’s community initiative was launched at the Al Mamzar beach on Tuesday morning where a group of elderly and disabled men became the first to enjoy the thrill of floating in the water.
Hussain Nasser Lootah, the director general of the Dubai Municipality, said the move came as part of the civic body’s keenness to achieve the strategic goal of the Dubai government to be one of the most friendly cities in the world for people with special needs by 2020 through the initiative ‘My Community … A City for Everyone’ launched by Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council.
“Dubai is the first Arab city that provides this facility for the people with special needs,” Lootah said.
He said the municipality selected these chairs after a market study about the product and the best practices in the world. The chairs that cost around Dh9, 000 each are imported from France.
“We hope these chairs will make our brothers and sisters with special needs and elderly people more comfortable to swim in the designated areas of the beach. They can use chairs without the help of others and the service is totally free of charges,” said Lootah.
In addition, he said, the municipality, has already formed a team of lifeguards and trainers in both Al Mamzar and Jumairah beaches to ensure the safety of the special users and help them know how to use the floating chairs.
“Dubai Municipality will provide more chairs in future if the experience is successful,” added Lootah.
The launching ceremony was attended by senior officials from the Dubai Municipality, Dubai Sports Council and the Community Centre for Elderly.
sajila@khaleejtimes.com
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