Differently abled voters stumped by poor facilities

The differently abled had to contend with low-quality ramps and inaccessible Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs). Mohanraj and his wife, both visually challenged, faced difficulties when they went to vote. “We went to cast our vote in the Nethaji Nagar polling booth, which we had earlier audited. But none of our suggestions were followed. We had specifically requested that the EVMs have the candidates’ names in Braille in Tamil; but this was not done. In addition, the Braille area was covered with plastic, making it difficult to use,” said the 29-year-old voter.

In many other polling booths, the differently abled had to navigate steep ramps and in some locations, there was insufficient space for wheelchairs to access. Raghuraman, a professor and member of Disability Rights Alliance (DRA), which had conducted an accessibility audit of the booths, said that the needs of persons with disability are often ignored by the authorities conducting elections. “Not a single booth can be termed ‘accessible’. In many locations, wooden ramps were constructed, which were not in keeping with specifications. Little effort has been taken by the Election Commission and many of our representations have not been followed,” he stated. 

A team of activists inspected the booths for accessibility measures on Thursday. Disability rights activist Smitha Sadasivan said that though attempts were made to make the booths accessible in the bypoll, the results were not up to the mark. 

“Unlevelled surfaces, level differences and hindrances in the free flow pathway were major hurdles. The very steep ramps at some booths were modified after the initial audit, but the actual standards have not been achieved. Wheel chairs and volunteers were provided, but they had not been given proper training. A report of the accessibility in the polling booths will be submitted to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), to ensure better facilities for persons with disability in the future,” she said.