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Zaruhi Batoyan, member of the Yerevan City Council from opposition “Exit” Alliance found herself confined to one of the floors in the City Hall on the first day of the Council session, as the ground has stairs up to the session hall but not a lift.

Wheelchair-bound Batoyan was eventually carried to the session hall in arms by her fellow members of the fraction, hoping the Mayor’s office will struggle to provide access to people with special needs.

As revealed, the Mayor’s office is not equipped to fully accommodate people with special needs, as the elevator serves only three floors while the session hall is in the fourth. 

“The fellow members of the fraction lifted me on a wheelchair. I guess this is not the job and obligation of anyone to carry a 100 kg of wheelchair once in a month for four years since it is quite heavy,” Batoyan told reporters after the encounter.

She got some hope that more mobility will be an option soon in the Mayor’s Office

“I hope much, the Mayor’s Office will come up a with an action plan to ensure my equal and decent participation in the sessions, as any other Council member, including the Mayor, enjoys” Batoyan said.