KHUJAND, Asia-Plus 18, Asia-Plus  -- 100 disabled people in the northern Sughd province are currently on the waiting list for wheelchairs.  

Speaking to reporters in Khujand on April 17, the Sughd social protection department head Marouf Murodov said that in Tajikistan, only the Konibodom-based joint-stock company (JSK) Bodom produces such wheelchairs.  

However, the number of wheelchairs produced by Bodom does not meet the disabled people’s requirements in them.  Moreover, not all disabled people can afford to buy such expensive wheelchairs costing more than $300.  “We do not have funds to purchase such wheelchairs for all disable people in the province,” Murodov said.  

According to him, a bulk of Ukrainian wheelchairs is expected to arrive in Sughd in June or July “and those 100 disabled people on the waiting list will receive them.”

During the press conference, it was noted that 175,000 pensioners and disabled people now live in northern Tajikistan.