22:10, 6 March 2014

Sochi residents report low citizens' interest in Paralympic Torch Relay

Final stage of the Paralympic torch relay. Sochi, March 6, 2014. Photo by Svetlana Kravchenko for the ‘Caucasian Knot’.

The final stage of the Paralympic Torch Relay was held in Sochi today with a small number of spectators, unlike the Olympic Torch Relay, local residents report.

"Most likely, schoolchildren and parents have already left on vacation, as schools are suspended on March 7-16; therefore, streets look not so crowded," said Svetlana Karpova, a resident of Constitution Street.

In her opinion, the Paralympic Relay deserves more people's attention.

Gayane Tavakalyan, the Chair of the Society of the Blind, was among the marchers. According to her story, on the eve of the Games a lot had been done in the city for visually impaired people, who are about five hundred in Sochi.

Russia is just beginning to learn the needs of people with disabilities, said Frol Vladimirov, a wheelchair invalid, who studied and worked in Europe and America. He fears that after the Paralympic Games in Sochi, the elevators installed in underground passages will not be needed, because many of them are not working or are very difficult to use.

Author: Svetlana Kravchenko

Source: CK correspondent