The Election Commission has made arrangements to ensure that the upcoming Lok Sabha election is a disability-friendly exercise, election officials said here on Wednesday.
ADVERTISEMENT
The Saksham App, developed by the commission, provides various services from registering voters with disabilities to making wheelchairs available for them on election day, Chief Electoral Officer (Kerala) Sanjay Kaul has said.
These efforts are aimed at making the elections an inclusive exercise. By downloading the app, voters in the persons with disabilities (PwD) category can alert the Election Commission about their specific needs and access the services on offer.
ADVERTISEMENT
The app allows for new voter registration, marking oneself as a person with a disability, requests for changing polling location, making corrections, tracking status, and requesting wheelchairs.
It also facilitates searching for names in voter lists, finding polling stations, locating booths, and registering complaints. Saaksham App is available on Google Play Store and Apple Store.
The app also provides voice assistance to voters with visual impairment and text-to-speech features for those with hearing impairment, Mr. Kaul said.
The app also provides information on polling booth locations and how to reach them, and contact details of election officers. The Election Commission had directed election officials in the States to install ramps at polling booths as part of making them disability-friendlly.