Ramps in R.K. Nagar polling booths steep, say disability rights activists

‘Some of the ramps do not have hand rails, and in some places, surface is uneven’

Nearly two weeks after conducting an access audit of the R.K. Nagar polling stations, disability rights activists on Saturday went on another round to check if steps had been taken to improve access for the disabled. Of the seven wards under the constituency, five were inspected on Saturday, while two were inspected on Friday.

“While some booths are now accessible, many still require a little work, especially with regard to the toilets,” said Smitha Sadasivan, a member of the State Disability Rights Allianceand one of those who was part of the audit process

“Ramps have been put in place, but many are not standardised and are too steep, making it difficult for a person on wheelchair to move,” she said.

However, the Chennai Corporation engineers who accompanied the activists have assured them that the issues would be settled, she said.

“Some of the ramps did not have hand rails, and in some places, the surface was uneven. We also told the engineers to remove sand in places where wheelchairs would be used or lay a path with mats and to also place mats on wooden ramps. They were very cooperative and agreed to do it,” said K. Gopinath, State general secretary, Tamil Nadu Udavikkaram Association for the Welfare of Differently Abled.

S. Mohanraj of another group, Maathiyosi, who visited the polling stations on Friday and Saturday, said that no work had been carried out in one private school. He also said water facilities were not available in most places.

On Friday, the Election Commission had sent a letter to the Chief Electoral Officer, Tamil Nadu, for “all possible measures and initiatives” to be taken by the field level election machinery to ensure that no voter is left behind. Ms. Sadasivan, who shared the letter, had met with the Chief Election Commissioner in Delhi on Thursday.

Among the directions issued are: efforts to be made to identify polling booth-wise voters who are persons with disabilities and wheelchairs, wheelchair volunteers, tactile signage inside polling stations, accessible toilets, parking space for voters with disabilities and online booking of wheelchairs to be provided to the extent possible, along with voice SMS system for electors with visual impairment and audio visual announcements to be made to the extent possible and a separate SVEEP plan for all electors with disabilities to be prepared and implemented.