Floating wheelchairs launched at Dubai beaches

A free swimming wheelchair service was launched in Dubai on Tuesday by the Dubai Civic Body. This community initiative is only for the elderly and disabled.
The civic body has arranged 15 swimming wheelchairs in Al-Mamzar and Jumairah beaches to help people with special needs to enjoy and have fun like others. A senior official told Arab News that the department will add more chairs in the future if the experience is successful.
About a dozen people with special needs and the elderly took to the low waters off Al-Mamzar Park on Tuesday after the launching ceremony. They expressed their happiness on the new move. “The move comes 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’,” said Hussain Nasser Lootah, director-general of the municipality. The launching ceremony was attended by senior officials from Dubai Municipality, Dubai Sports Council and the Community Center for Elderly.
“Dubai is the first Arab city that provides this facility for people with special needs. We selected these chairs after a market study of the product and the best practices in the world. The chairs that costs around AED 9,000 each are imported from France,” Lootah explained.
‘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 services are totally free of charge,” he said. “In addition, we have already formed a team of lifeguards and trainers in both Al-Mamzar and Jumairah beaches to ensure the safety of people,” Lootah further said.