PMNH still inaccessible to PWDs.

ISLAMABAD -- In spite of Prime Minister Imran Khan's instruction for transforming all the federal capital's public places into disabled-friendly, the Pakistan Museum of Natural History (PMNH) is still lagging behind in providing all-out facilities to the people with special needs.

Last year, the Prime Minister Office (PMO) told the Capital Development Authority (CDA) to take necessary steps for ensuring all the public places in capital city as disabled friendly by providing all kind of facilities including ramps, lifts, toilets and others to the Persons With Disabilities (PWDs).

'Neither the CDA, nor the Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) has come forward to facilitate us in setting up ramps, elevators and disabled friendly toilets at the museum,' an official at the PMNH told reporter on the condition of anonymity.

He said the PMNH received around 20,000 visitors per month and most of them were school-children, who come here on the field trip or for research purposes. 'Normally, every class of a school contains one or two physically impaired student, which prompts the need for making it disabled-friendly at the earliest as we receive such type of visitor on daily basis.'

'We cannot facilitate people with disabilities for lacking a proper building,' he regretted and said the department could not even facilitate such visitors to reach at the second floor of the building due to non-availability of a lift.

He said the museum was set up to sensitize the citizens about the importance of wildlife in balancing eco-system but they are unable to attract a sizeable number of visitors due to paucity of funds.

'I was excited before reaching the museum but my jubilance whisked away when I saw there are no proper arrangements for people like me,' said Shazia Altaf, a special student from a Rawalpindi school.

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