Several voters with visual impairment managed to cast their vote through the braille ballot papers introduced by the Election Commission to make the Lok Sabha election more inclusive.
Two polling stations, one in Gandhi Nagar and another in MGR Nagar in Nagamangalam in Tiruchi, were fully equipped to facilitate voting by people with visual impairment. There were around 170 registered voters in MGR Nagar and 108 in Gandhi Nagar. Around 70% voter turnout was recorded till 3 p.m. in the Gandhi Nagar polling booth.
Ramps, hand grills, seating arrangements, and drinking water facilities were made available for the voters. A volunteer for each polling station was appointed to help the voters with visual impairment inside the booth.
The District Differently-Abled Welfare Office conducted awareness programmes and mock polls to ensure a hassle-free process. The officials prepared a dummy braille ballot paper, with the candidate’s name and symbol, for the polling booths and the demo was given to all blind people.
“The voters were given dummy braille ballot paper which was similar to the electronic voting machines inside the polling booth. Many of them read it and voted right without help,” said A. Shankar, a coordinator for persons with disabilities in the locality.
S. Rani, 46, of Gandhi Nagar, who is visually impaired, said the Braille slips, which had instructions on how to vote, were easy to read and that she was able to vote without seeking help from anyone.
These voters, who are hoping for an improvement, bring various priorities to the forefront, including employment opportunities. “Since some of the youth here also have visual impairment, they are unable to find a proper job despite having adequate qualification. The government should focus on improving the employment opportunities for the people with visual impairment,” said Maniammal, 39, of Periyar Nagar.
M. Nisha, 40, of Periyar Nagar said she follows the political news on television every day. “I wanted to vote as we want a good government to fulfil the needs of our community,” she added.
