New Delhi, March 12
Disabled Rights Group (DRG), a non
political advocacy group, has sought the intervention of the Chief Election
Commissioner for creating a barrier-free environment for nearly 50 million
disabled voters in polling booths across the county.
Disillusioned with their
experience at polling booths in the previous Lok Sabha and Assembly elections,
the DRG has sought an appointment with the CEC, Mr T.R. Krishna Murthy to voice
their concerns related to their voting rights.
“The first thing to ensure is
that the disabled people are able to vote and exercise their franchise in a
disabled-friendly environment. The access to booths is a lesser evil. What comes
in our way are the barricades put a kilometre before the booths in the name of
security. A lot of our friends use motorised tricycles. And, people with visual
impairment cannot see their ballot paper and are not allowed to take along with
them a personal attendant they trust to help them cast their vote. We want an
assurance on this from the CEC. Should the polling booth officers not be
sensitive to our needs?,’’ asked Mr Abidi.
In his letter to Mr Krishna Murthy,
DRG convener, Javed Abidi has said: “We even wonder whether persons with
disability, despite being a large vote bank, even get to cast their vote or does
it go waste because of lack of necessary facilities for the disabled voters of
our country.’’
The DRG has drawn the attention of the CEC to the Persons with
Disabilities (PWD) Act, 1995, which provides for barrier-free access to the
disabled in all public places. The DRG has pointed out that the government has
not cared to implement the provisions of the Act and most of the shopping malls,
theatres, banks, educational institutions, offices, restaurants, housing
complexes and hospitals are inaccessible for persons with disabilities. ``The
disabled people are still at the margins. There have been no proactive measures
by the government to encourage the inclusion of disabled people in the
mainstream,’’ the DRG letter reads.
Mr Abidi said that they had got a
favourable response from the CEC’s office and hope to meet Mr Krishna Murthy by
March 17.
