“Braille sheets were not there in most booths and several persons struggled with temporary ramps of poor quality”S. NamburajanGeneral Secretary, Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently Abled and Caregivers
Persons with disabilities, who visited the polling booths in the city and the suburbs on Saturday to cast their votes in the urban local bodies election, faced several constraints. At many polling stations, the candidate lists were not available in braille and some found it hard to access the polling booths and navigate temporary ramps.
“When I asked for the braille sheet, I was asked to wait for a long time. There was lack of awareness among the officials there and when I was told that I had to vote with another person’s assistance, I refused. Why should I depend on somebody when a provision should have been made to ensure that we have the freedom to independently exercise our franchise?” asked R. Raja, a college professor. Dejected by not being provided with braille sheet at his polling booth in Ennore, Mr. Raja recalled that these provisions had been made during the Assembly election last year.
Ruckus at Santhome
Eight men with psycho-social disabilities were prevented from voting at a polling booth in Santhome after party observers there created a ruckus. “They were accompanied by support persons who were to assist them and the party observers refused to let them vote. The voters and the persons who had accompanied them had to wait at Nageshwara Rao Park from 11.30 a.m. till 4 p.m. and were finally able to vote following the intervention of the Greater Chennai Corporation officials,” said Vaishnavi Jayakumar, member, Disability Rights Alliance.
She said that despite explaining to the party observers that voting with a companion was permitted under the election law, some of them created a ruckus and yelled at them.
At a polling booth in East Tambaram, K. Raghuraman, an assistant professor, was not provided with a braille sheet. “The officials there requested that I vote with the help of somebody. Voting has to be an independent experience for us and we have been stressing on this for years now,” he said.
A senior citizen on oxygen support after casting his vote at Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha during the Greater Chennai Corporation election on Saturday. | Photo Credit: R. Ravindran
Norms violated
All polling booths are expected to have ramps and wheelchairs to help senior citizens and persons with disabilities to access the booths with ease. While most booths had wheelchairs, temporary ramps in some places were hard to navigate.
K. Murugan, 63, said that at his polling booth at Ayanavaram, a board was kept as a makeshift ramp over the steps at the entrance. “I walked with the support of another person and when I tried to use the ramp, I fell. I was later helped by the police personnel there,” he said.
Voters like D. Kumaravel said that the voting process was smooth during the Assembly elections. “The last time, there were volunteers who actively helped us, guided us to our polling booths, and would immediately come forward to ask us if we wanted a wheelchair. This wasn’t done today,” he said. At his booth in Vyasarpadi, while he was able to navigate the steps there even though he walked with the help of crutches, persons who crawled would have found it hard.
S. Namburajan, State general secretary, Tamil Nadu Association for the Rights of All Types of Differently Abled and Caregivers, said that it was disappointing to see inadequate arrangements made for persons with disabilities across polling booths. “Braille sheets were not there in most booths and several persons struggled with temporary ramps of poor quality. Only if these basic facilities are taken care of can the disabled have the freedom to exercise their franchise independently,” he said.
