Disabled Voters to Get Help to Reach Polling Centres
Elections Commission will now help Persons With Disabilities to reach polling centres.
In Maharashtra there are 2,24,162 voters who have registered as Persons With Disabilities (PWD).
For the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections in India, the Election Commission (EC) will now provide pick up and drop facility for the disabled voters to the polling centres. Dilip Shinde is the Additional Chief Electoral Officer in Maharashtra. He said that usually political parties help to bring the voters to the polling centres. For the first time the EC will provide a pick up service for the PWDs and drop them back to their houses after they vote.
To make use of this service, PWDs can register on a mobile App called PWD. By registering, the EC will come to know that they are interested in this facility. The EC also has a list of voters in every area. This list includes the number of Persons With Disability in each area. Depending on the number of PWDs, the EC will arrange vehicles and helpers.
This service is available to all voters whether they register on the App or not. The App is an extra benefit provided by the EC.The EC has also asked NGOs to help. They have also set up training camps to teach them how to use the new voting machines.
