The Hindu : National : `All efforts to help physically challenged to vote'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Sep 29, 2004

National

National

`All efforts to help physically challenged to vote'

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, SEPT. 28. The Election Commission today assured the physically challenged persons that all efforts were being made to enable them to cast their votes with dignity in the coming Assembly elections and byelections.

While the Commission has written to the State Chief Electoral Officers concerned to install wooden ramps at the polling centres, it is still in the process of testing the feasibility of Braille-friendly Electronic Voting Machines.

The Commission's efforts were communicated to the Disabled Rights Group (DRG) — an umbrella organisation of disabled groups — at a meeting today the Deputy Election Commissioner, A. N. Jha, had with them. The meeting took place after a dharna by the DRG outside the Election Commission headquarters.

Apparently, the Commission had written to the group on Monday in response to a letter dated September 24 about the Maharashtra Election Commission's "indifference" to the needs of the physically challenged. According to the Election Commission, it had issued orders on September 3 to all the Chief Electoral Officers where elections are due to provide ramps at all polling centres. The Commission told the DRG that it had been working on the issue of Braille signages on the EVMs since the Lok Sabha elections. Two options were considered: changes in the EVMs to provide for Braille signages and postal ballot for the physically challenged.

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