Post audit alert, Corporation ‘ramps’ up poll booths

Chennai

The data says, in the 172 booths audited in Chennai, 82% of booths have toilets inaccessible to persons with disability while 25% have no ramps. Sathya Madurantakam, a member of the DRA, who used the Election Audit app, said that much needs to be done to make booths disabled-friendly.

“Though it is better than the past elections, we have a long way to go. If you look at the toilets, a very small percentage is accessible to persons with disability. We are working with the Corporation of Chennai to ensure accessibility in government schools and other public buildings, even after the elections,” he said.  

Meenakshi Balasubramanian, Project Coordinator for Equals – Centre for Promotion of Social Justice, recalled the harrowing experience during the previous elections. “Last time, I voted from Kodambakkam and the polling booth had a temporary ramp. But going on it was scary, as it shook a lot. There was a sandy area between the gate and booth, which was difficult to navigate,” she said.

Meenakshi pointed out that according to the Persons with Disability Act (1995) and the government order passed by the Tamil Nadu government in February 2013, all public buildings should be accessible to persons with disabilities. “Since most of the polling booths are in government schools, the ramps and other facilities should already be in place. But that is not the case. The authorities concerned should ensure these public buildings are accessible to all. There should be a holistic attitude towards inclusion – right from manifestos for persons with disabilities and easy  accessibility of the polling booths,” added Meenakshi.

Smitha Sadasivan, another member from the Disability Rights Alliance (DRA), said, “Most election awareness programmes were not accessible to persons with disability – either in terms of the venue or the information. The information should be made available in plain language for intellectually disabled, in Braille for visually impaired and these programmes should have a sign language interpreter. Nothing of that sort has been included despite the fact that we have been working towards this since last October. This shows that persons with disability are not considered.”

A senior official from Corporation of Chennai said that work is underway to provide ramps to all poll booths. “On Election Day, wheelchairs will also be provided. Persons with disability can be dropped off to the nearest point. We are also ensuring that they don’t need to stand in queues and putting up notices to inform other voters. In fact, in RK Nagar, we are providing a special poll booth and transportation for 30 visually impaired people in the area. We also conducted mock poll sessions at institutions for disabled, to ensure they have a hassle-free voting process,” said the official.

District View

Out of the 792 booths audited in Tirunelveli, 28% have no access to ramps; 84% of the toilets are inaccessible.
 
Other districts across Tamil Nadu — Nagapattinam, Dindigul, Salem, Viluppuram and Theni — have been audited.

The 65 booths audited across the hinterlands of TN show that only 71% of booths have accessible toilets — faring better than the urban centres.

According to the audit, in certain parts of the state, like Viluppuram for instance, the polling booths are in a deplorable condition, without proper ramps or other such facilities.