Disabled, elderly voters left to fend for themselves

Sameer Singh
Tribune News Service
Bathinda, May 19

Voters with disabilities were at the receiving end as there was no one to guide or attend them at many polling stations. Such voters were left to fend for themselves. While some of them limped their way to the polling centre/room, others were seen running from pillar to post asking either polling agents or security personnel about the location of wheelchairs.

Miffed over the alleged mismanagement some family members of voters with physical disability were seen having a heated verbal exchange with staff on duty at polling stations. Family members were seen helping handicapped voters in reaching the polling centre.

Paramjit Kaur, a disabled voter at Parasram Nagar, said, “There were no arrangements made to attend elderly or handicapped voters here. Though wheelchairs were placed at the polling stations, there was no one to guide voters to wheelchairs. If the administration spent money on buying wheelchairs, they could have made arrangements so that needy voters could make use of the facility.”

However, there were a few polling stations where disabled voters were duly attended and ferried to the polling centre/room by staff on duty.

Disabled voters and elderly people said the administration could have assigned one person the task of attending and guiding handicapped voters to polling stations.

Mobile phones not allowed inside booths

Voters were inconvenienced, especially those who had come alone to cast their vote, when they were asked by polling staff to keep their mobiles outside the polling station premises.

Voters said the district election office neither spread awareness regarding the same nor did they make adequate provisions where mobile phones could be submitted. Even verbal exchanges were witnessed outside a few polling stations between voters and security personnel.

Gurmeet Singh, who had come to cast his vote alone, said, “If mobile phones were not allowed inside the polling stations, then the administration could have spread awareness regarding the same.”

Gurmeet Singh added, “I had to drive to Tin Koni market to give my mobile phone to an acquaintance and then I came back to cast my vote. Later, I had to come back again to take my phone from my friend.”

Gurleen Kaur, another voter, said, “Staff at the entrance of the polling station was not ready to deposit my mobile phone with them nor did they let me take it inside the station. Since my brother had gone to bring my grandmother to the polling station, I had to call him to come back soon to keep my mobile phone with him.”

Voters said the administration could have installed a counter to submit mobile phones of voters by issuing a token at the entrance itself.