Sochi improves Paralympic facilities

Construction of many building continues at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Ski Resort in Krasnaya Polyana on February 13, 2013 in Sochi, Russia. Sochi is preparing for the 2014 Winter Olympics with test events across the venues.

Moscow, Feb 14 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Next year’s Paralympic host city of Sochi is rapidly improving access for disabled people, the head of the Russian Paralympic Committee said.

Russian cities often have poor infrastructure, and Paralympic Committee head Pavel Rozhkov said this had been a problem in Sochi and at many Russian airports before recent upgrades.

“We’re checking all the infrastructure – cafes, cinemas and that sort of thing,” he said.

“There were a lot of problems to begin with. For example, they would make a ramp for wheelchair users almost vertical, but then everything was redone.”

“Now, more or less everything’s shifted. The guys will now fly in and they won’t feel any problems.”

In October, Sochi Paralympic organisers celebrated 500 days to go until the Games in a low-key event that included the launch of an “access map” of buildings across Russia with disabled access.

The 2014 Paralympics runs from March 7-16, a month after the Olympics start.