The Election Commission on Friday said that people with physical disabilities need not wait in the queue for casting their vote in the May 5 elections to the Legislative Assembly.
Addressing presspersons here, Chief Electoral Officer Anil Kumar Jha said, “Special arrangements will be made for persons with disabilities at polling stations.”
Polling booth staff would assist the physically and visually impaired citizens to cast their vote and arrangements would be made for them to take wheelchairs inside the polling booths, he said.
In the polling stations where permanent ramps have not been provided, temporary ramps should be set up. A blind or visually impaired elector should be permitted to take an assistant to cast the vote, if he wishes.
Electors with speech and hearing impairment should be given special care as in the case of other differently abled persons. The facility of Braille signage was being made available on the electronic voting machines for visually impaired voters to feel the numbers before casting their vote.
The CEO said about 22,500 postal ballots have been received as on Friday evening. The Postal Department has been roped in for receiving the postal ballot.
Cash seized
Authorities have seized Rs. 20 lakh in cash at Yelahanka in Bangalore, Rs. 10 lakh and Rs. 12.5 lakh in two cases at Kustagi, Koppal; Rs. 2 lakh at Channapatna in Ramanagaram, Rs. 8.35 lakh at Kumta in Karwar, Rs. 7 lakh at Subramanyapura in Bangalore, Rs. 2.5 lakh at Varthur in Bangalore, Rs. 19.52 lakh at Srirangapatna in Mandya and one person each has been arrested in each one of the cases.
