Visually impaired voters of Jharkhand would not have to face any kind of hassle at their respective booths. Apart from arrangements made to assist them and guide at polling booths during this lok Sabha elections the Election Commission has pressed into service EVMs fitted with Braille scripted stickers.
The Election Commission has instructed officials of all the districts to deploy booth level officers and micro-observers for explaining details on Braille script of parties and candidates mentioned in the Electronic Voting Machine.
“This is for the first time that BlOs will take care of blind voters. It will help the visually impaired ones if they are interested in casting vote without the support of their assistant. If the assistant is representing them then the former has to fill up a form prior to voting,” an official in the Chief Electoral Officer’s office said on Tuesday.
The official added, “Most of the rural blind voters are illiterate. The case is vice-versa in urban areas. To sort out this problem, Braille stickers bearing the name of candidates of respective constituency will be pasted on EVMs. We order such EVMs in limited numbers from Saraswati Press of Kolkata. The list of such voters from each booth will be collected a week before the date of voting. Also, ramps are available in these booths so that people of this category can walk without any difficulty.”
Notably, few of the visually challenged youth of Ranchi had requested the deputy commissioner through local media to make special arrangements for their voting so that they do not have to rely on their caretakers at the time of using the EVMs.“We welcome government’s plannings for our children,” said wardens of blind institutions of Ranchi and Jamshedpur.
“Three or four months back we had instructed all the districts to take necessary steps for visually impaired so that they too can experience the opportunity of voting. Also, we had told district officials to provide drinking water and toilet facilities for the disabled and senior citizens. Sitting arrangements under shade is another instruction,” said state deputy chief electoral officer Abhay Kumar Rao.
Besides, the CEO’s office had decided last month to make model booths in each district wherein Auxiliary Nurse Midwife (ANM), National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets and Panchayat Yuva Krida Aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA) members will be deployed for the convenience of first time voters, senior citizens and specially abled residents.