With the national election just months away, the Election Commission (EC) is
trying to ensure that people from all sections of society gets to vote
without any hassles.
For starters, there is no separate list of disabled voters which means
authorities have no clue about the number of disabled voters in the state.
The current condition is that visually impaired people have to struggle hard
to get their names onto the list along with people with other disabilities.
Options like Braille electoral identity cards (EPIC) have not
even been explored making things worse for visually impaired voters.
Firstly, the government must successfully create a voters list exclusively
for disabled people. Unless that is there, how will they know what
facilities need to be offered and where? They just cannot have wheelchair
ramps and other accessible features without the right Census. So start from
the basics. The EC must tie up with other organizations to they get a
detailed insight into the number of disabled people. It is high time the
state government understands the importance of disabled people.
–Raghu Raman, Secretary, Karma Vidya Foundation
The Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 clearly states
that the electoral process must be made accessible for people with all kinds
of disabilities. But from waiting in endless queues outside pilling booths to
lack of accessible transport, the problems are many.
The many promises made under the Accessible Elections campaign seem distant.
While there are hundreds of polling booths with facilities like wheelchair
ramps, not all disabilities have been catered to. Yet, things are bettee than
before say some voters.
“I feel that our state government has been doing a great job in providing
accessibility at polling booths. There is still a lot more to improve. But
most of the officials and even cops at polling booths are more than ready to
help you out when you need a helping hand”, says Prince
Durairaj from Coimbatore.
Like with every other election, the state government has promised exclusive
features for people with all kinds of disabilities at polling booths. Perhaps
in thr days to come, more of these features will be revealed.
ALSO READ: On National Voters Day, Karnataka government pledges accessible
voting for everyone
Source: https://newzhook.com/story/21292
