Chennai: Eight years after his left hand was amputated and with a dysfunctional lower body, Pallikarnai resident M. Ravichandran(48), headed to vote in the 2011 general elections. “I regretted my decision to vote as my wheel-chair almost toppled. No policemen there came forward to help when my wife was lifting the wheel-chair,” recalled Ravichandran who became differently-abled after a rail accident in 2007.
Asked if he would vote this year, he said, “Initiatives by the ECI are convincing. But I will vote only if they are completely implemented.” Insisting on the need for a mobile booth concept, renowned activist for the differently-abled, H. Ramakrishnan stated that the ECI should work much ahead of the elections to facilitate the disabled who constitute 5 per cent of the total electorate in Tamil Nadu. “Constructing ramps in all 63,118 polling booths is impossible now. Had the ECI worked on the move a year ago, cent participation from disabled people would have been ensured,” said Ramakrishnan, who was affected with polio at the age of two.
As all friendly initiatives cannot be implemented this year, Ramakrishnan said that volunteers should be appointed to facilitate transportation. “Not just to bring them to the polling booth, volunteers should take disabled people back after casting a vote,” he added.
It is a tough battle for disabled citizens in rural areas as the mediocre facilities do not encourage them. “Many poll booths in villages do not have ramps and Braille ballots. A volunteer’s help while casting a vote is a breach of secrecy for the visually challenged,” said T. Rasikesavan, a visually challenged resident from Mettur. Echoing this, R. Sridhar of Mythri educational & charitable trust added that awareness has to focus on villages.
“By sensitizing people about the value of a vote, even people affected by Down’s syndrome can be included in voting. This can happen if the ECI counts them as voters,” said K. Geetha Subramaniam, a mother of a Down’s syndrome child.
