Elderly
citizens and people with physical disability, who are unable to reach
the polling centres due to health reasons, have demanded Election
Commission of India to provide wheelchair, ramps or make other
arrangements for them so that they can cast their vote. The Kanpur Nagar
seat will go for Lok Sabha polls on April 30.
Rastriya Viklang Party and several other senior citizen groups, fighting for the rights of the differently-abled and elderlies, took to the streets to voice their opinion about right to vote.
Alpana Kumari (35), of Ambedkar Nagar Kakadeo, who suffers physical disability, has to face difficulty for arranging a wheel-chair at the time of every election. "It is a very frustrating moment when I have to take help of my family members to cover the distance from the polling station gate to the enclosure where electronic voting machines (EVMs) are placed. Again, I have made an appeal to the authorities to arrange for a wheel-chair so that I can exercise my franchise on the election day without any problem. Election Commission needs to get more sensitive towards disabled," she said.
Voicing his concern, physically disabled Jauhar Ali, a resident of Shastrinagar, said that arrangements for the disabled are mandatory following the Supreme Court's direction to provide special facilities for the disabled during the polls.
"In the last assembly elections, I came across ramps that too only at a few polling booths in my area. This was not enough and it points to gross negligence of people with disability despite Supreme Court's directives," he said.
This Lok Sabha election, however, Jauhar has decided to fight for the cause of such voters. "I have written to the chief election commissioner, demanding a wheelchair and construction of ramps at each polling station so that persons like me can cast their vote," he added.
Virendra Kumar general secretary of the Rastriya Viklang Party said that several physically disabled had faced similar problems when they went to vote at their respective polling stations during last assembly elections. "However, we got reports that the administration, this time has built ramps at polling stations located inside government institutions. There are many polling booths, particularly situated inside private institutions, which still lack such ramps," he said.
He further added that previously ramps were provided only in urban areas while rural areas were completely ignored. "There were reports that many disabled persons who had gone to vote in Ghatampur area had to wait for long due to huge crowd."
However, as per the district election authorities, arrangements for physically disabled and senior citizens are likely to be in effect around the district this elections. Ramps have been introduced at almost all the polling stations to aid the disabled voter, said district returning officer Roshan Jacob. "Unlike the previous elections, this time we want to address maximum problems and short comings confronted by the disabled while casting their vote. We have constructed ramps at almost all polling stations for senior citizens and disabled to ensure that voting for them is a smooth affair," Jacob told Times Of India.
Source : TOI , 14th April 2014
Rastriya Viklang Party and several other senior citizen groups, fighting for the rights of the differently-abled and elderlies, took to the streets to voice their opinion about right to vote.
Alpana Kumari (35), of Ambedkar Nagar Kakadeo, who suffers physical disability, has to face difficulty for arranging a wheel-chair at the time of every election. "It is a very frustrating moment when I have to take help of my family members to cover the distance from the polling station gate to the enclosure where electronic voting machines (EVMs) are placed. Again, I have made an appeal to the authorities to arrange for a wheel-chair so that I can exercise my franchise on the election day without any problem. Election Commission needs to get more sensitive towards disabled," she said.
Voicing his concern, physically disabled Jauhar Ali, a resident of Shastrinagar, said that arrangements for the disabled are mandatory following the Supreme Court's direction to provide special facilities for the disabled during the polls.
"In the last assembly elections, I came across ramps that too only at a few polling booths in my area. This was not enough and it points to gross negligence of people with disability despite Supreme Court's directives," he said.
This Lok Sabha election, however, Jauhar has decided to fight for the cause of such voters. "I have written to the chief election commissioner, demanding a wheelchair and construction of ramps at each polling station so that persons like me can cast their vote," he added.
Virendra Kumar general secretary of the Rastriya Viklang Party said that several physically disabled had faced similar problems when they went to vote at their respective polling stations during last assembly elections. "However, we got reports that the administration, this time has built ramps at polling stations located inside government institutions. There are many polling booths, particularly situated inside private institutions, which still lack such ramps," he said.
He further added that previously ramps were provided only in urban areas while rural areas were completely ignored. "There were reports that many disabled persons who had gone to vote in Ghatampur area had to wait for long due to huge crowd."
However, as per the district election authorities, arrangements for physically disabled and senior citizens are likely to be in effect around the district this elections. Ramps have been introduced at almost all the polling stations to aid the disabled voter, said district returning officer Roshan Jacob. "Unlike the previous elections, this time we want to address maximum problems and short comings confronted by the disabled while casting their vote. We have constructed ramps at almost all polling stations for senior citizens and disabled to ensure that voting for them is a smooth affair," Jacob told Times Of India.
Source : TOI , 14th April 2014
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