State level seminar on easy voting of disabled voters concluded

Raipur. Chief Electoral Officer Reena Babasaheb Kangale, while addressing the seminar organized on the subject of easy voting for disabled voters in the conference room of Red Cross Bhawan, Raipur today, said that the Election Commission of India has made extensive arrangements to provide voting facilities to disabled and elderly voters in the Chhattisgarh Assembly elections. Arrangements are being made. The Chief Electoral Officer said that in order to make the voting process easier for disabled and elderly voters, voters of this category have been given the option to vote through postal ballot while sitting at home. Along with this, if disabled voters want the facility of vehicle to reach the polling station to vote, then the facility will also be provided to them by the Election Commission. For this facility, such voters will have to register themselves first.

Chief Electoral Officer Mrs. Kangale said that on the voting day, NSS, NCC, Scout Guide volunteers will also be put on duty to assist the disabled and senior citizen voters. Keeping in mind that disabled people and senior voters above 80 years of age coming to vote at the polling station do not have to stand in queues, they will be given priority to exercise their franchise first. Names of candidates are also being printed in Braille script on EVM machines for visually impaired voters. Polling personnel have been instructed to act sensitively regarding the special needs of disabled voters in the polling booth. Collector Shri Sarveshwar Bhure also addressed the state level seminar. He said that signs are being pasted to inform the disabled voters about the status of the Voter Assistance Booth (VAB) to be established at the polling station. Referring to the Saksham mobile app prepared for disabled voters, he described it as versatile.

State level voter icon Chitrasen Sahu, while mentioning the efforts of the Commission, called it a very effective step for the disabled voters. Referring to his experiences, he said that now voting has become a celebration in the true sense. Earlier, going to the polling booth and standing in the queue to vote was a big problem for the disabled. The efforts made by the Election Commission in the last few years for smooth elections are highly commendable. He expressed confidence that due to these efforts of the Commission, 100 percent disabled voters will come forward to vote. In the seminar, district level voter icon Shri Prithvi Raj mentioned the usefulness of Saksham App. Calling it a hi-tech facility for the disabled, he talked about disseminating it as much as possible. During the seminar, information was given to the disabled voters about the process of voting through electronic voting machines. A presentation was also given regarding the use of Saksham App. In the seminar, Chief Executive Officer of District Panchayat Abinash Mishra, Joint Chief Electoral Officer Shri K.R.R. Singh and Assistant Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Mrs. Sharda Aggarwal along with officials of the Social Welfare Department and hearing and visually impaired voters were present.