Election Commission of India in order to ensure comfortable and encouraging participation of divyang voters into the polling has come up with several guidelines.
The guidelines are there for the electoral officers to adhere with well in time.
As per the directions, all the polling booths need to be situated on the ground floor with uniform ramp design. Where the ramps are not possible mobile ramps have to be arranged to facilitate the special voters.
Besides, the approach road up to the polling booth has to be smooth. The Commission has also launched a mobile App where any divyang can register for pick and drop facility. District administration is liable to provide vehicle free of cost for such persons.
“The ECI has issued such guidelines to ensure participation of all the sections of the society and also make the polling booths easily accessible so that no voter is left out.
The information is being disseminated down the order through training programmes of the officials,” said Deputy CEO with the Commission in the State Manish Ranjan on Monday.
The guidelines also have provision for wider and if possible separate entrance for divyangs along with proper facilities in the voting compartments.
Desired signage has to be placed along with parking facility, wheel chair etc. They need not to wait in common queue to cast their votes. Voters’ slips have to be home delivered carrying location of the respective booths.
Additional Director with the Directorate of Social Women and Child Development Sweeta Gupta has been appointed as State coordinator to address the complaints along with ensuring the necessary facilities for divyangs during the polls.
Also coordinators have been appointed at districts and Assembly constituencies. Support from civil societies has also been sought in this direction.
Based on the data available with the Government the concerned officials have to prepare the list of divyangs booth-wise along with their categories. Inclusion of names into the voters list is also to be done by setting up voters’ facilitation centers. Dummy ballot papers in braille font would also to be provided along with the awareness materials to blind persons.