GUWAHATI, April 3 - Around 700 differently-abled voters will cast vote in the upcoming Lok Sabha election in Kamrup (Metro) election district.
Sources in the district administration informed that a survey had been carried out by booth-level officers to detect differently-abled voters at every polling station in Guwahati in collaboration with various NGOs and the social welfare department.
�We are ready to make this election accessible for all. For the differently-abled voters, the district administration communicated with the health and social welfare departments along with some NGOs to manage adequate numbers of wheelchairs,� Deputy Commissioner and District Election Officer of Kamrup (Metro) Biswajit Pegu told The Assam Tribune.
It is noteworthy that the Election Commission of India (ECI) has appointed accessibility observers for the upcoming election in every state. The observers will oversee the efficient and effective implementation of all instructions of the Commission related to accessible election at the field level.
�For all purposes, they will act as the eyes and ears of the Commission during the period and provide inputs to the Commission from the field about the steps taken to make the election accessible,� a letter written by Secretary of ECI AK Pathak to all state-level chief electoral officers stated.
The letter also said that the State Disability Coordinator will be the nodal officer to ensure smooth flow of communication between the Chief Electoral Officer and the accessibility observers in this election.
�The accessibility observer will visit as many polling station locations as early as possible to get themselves abreast of the ground situation, so that corrective measures may be taken in time and assess availability of accessible awareness material at ground level and accessibility of the polling stations for persons with disabilities and senior citizens,� the letter added.
The ECI has also issued a charter of 27 points of requirements for making accessible polling stations.
