Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM), since the inception of the incumbent government, has distributed 2,043 ordinary manual and 344 customised manual wheelchairs. Image courtesy: mohr.gov.pk
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM), since the inception of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government, has distributed 2,043 ordinary manual wheelchairs. Apart from this, 344 customised manual wheelchairs have also been distributed since July 2021 amongst the applicants.
These details were shared in response to a question of a lawmaker during the proceedings of the last session of the National Assembly (NA).
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) MNA Choudhary Faqir had inquired from the minister in-charge of poverty alleviation and social safety division about the distribution of wheelchairs among the applicants on submission of online application.
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Responding to it, the ministry maintained that since the inception of the incumbent government, the PBM has received 2,043 applications for the provision of ordinary wheelchairs along with 1,607 applications for customised wheelchairs since October 2020.
The pilot project of distribution of customised wheelchairs was launched in October 2020 in 21 districts of the country but the distribution started in July 2021 after completion of procedural requirements and codal formalities, the answer added.
Meanwhile, 1,263 applications for wheelchairs are pending due to the slow manufacturing process as each wheelchair is specifically customised according to the requirements of a beneficiary.
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The reply also maintained that the PBM accommodates each person needing a wheelchair on a first come first serve basis. However, due to budgetary constraints and the inclusion of new projects like Panagahs and ‘Ehsaas Koi Bhooka Na Soye,’ the procurement of wheelchairs was temporarily slowed down.
To accommodate the pending applications, the PBM has already floated a tender for the purchase of 3,000 wheelchairs.
According to the station-wise breakup from July 1, 2018, to December 31, 2021, Punjab Lahore Station received 112 applications for standard wheelchairs, South Punjab received 286 applications, Balochistan 148, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) 50 each, Gilgit Baltistan (G-B) 100, Sindh 1,258 and the head office received 39 applications.
Moreover, Punjab Lahore received 232 applications for customised wheelchairs, South Punjab received 393 applications, Balochistan received 160 applications, KP 400, ICT 138, Sindh 146, and G-B received 130 applications.
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