Haryana: Election Commission wants proper ramps, water, toilets at poll centres in educational institutes

Ravinder Saini

Rohtak, March 26

The state Election Commission has issued directions to various government departments for making the upcoming Lok Sabha elections accessible to the persons with disability (PwD).

Cashless medical care for polling officials

• The Department of Higher Education has forwarded the directives to all state universities and heads of government colleges asking them to ensure their strict compliance.
• The Department of Health has been asked to provide proper medical kits at the booth along with doctors’ teams and also ensure cashless medical treatment to the polling personnel.

As per the directions, the Department of Education has been asked to check the availability of ramps with proper gradient, drinking water, lighting, furniture and PwD friendly toilets at the polling booths. The polling is scheduled to take place in the state on May 25.

Sources said the Public Works Department had also been directed to provide a proper gradient ramp of 1:10 inclination and 1:14 firm hand rails at each polling station.

“The Red Cross Society has also been asked to provide wheelchairs and to rope in National Cadet Core (NCC) and National Service Scheme (NSS) volunteers at each polling station to help the PwD voters and senior citizens,” said sources.

The sources said the Chief Electoral Officer, Haryana, recently held a meeting with the State Steering Committee on the accessible election for the Lok Sabha polls in which all issues pertaining to the PwD electors were discussed in detail. Thereafter, the directions were issued to various government departments.

“The Social Welfare Department has also been directed to arrange the camps in collaboration with the District Education Officers for the enrolment of left-out PwD beneficiaries in the electoral roll and make all them aware about the Saksham App and voting through the postal ballot from home by distributing pamphlets among the PwD voters,” the sources added.

The Department of Education has also been directed to educate the students for motivating their family members to vote on the day of polling. “Educate the students about the voting procedure by creating a dummy polling booth,” stated the directives.

The Department of Health has been asked to provide proper medical kits at the booth along with doctors’ teams and also ensure cashless medical treatment to the polling personnel. The Department of Higher Education has forwarded the directives to all state universities and heads of government colleges asking them to ensure their strict compliance.