Pune: With the motto of ‘accessible elections’, officials of the Election Department will be focusing on the incorporation of disabled people in the upcoming elections.
As per the Election Commission guidelines, all block-level officials (BLOs) have been directed to conduct house-to-house surveys to check the names of existing voters as well as to ensure new voter registrations. Deputy Election Officer Monica Singh said that special emphasis will be laid on the inclusion of disabled persons in the electoral process.
“While we are conducting house to house surveys we will be collecting data of disabled persons in the houses. The type of disability will also be noted down. This will help us in providing assistance to these persons on the day of voting. We will provide maximum assistance like wheelchairs and other facilities to such persons so that they become part of the electoral process,” added Singh.
Speaking on the coordination with civic body, Singh said that they have collected information about disabled persons from the corporation and will verify the same while collecting information during the house-to-house survey by officials of the Election Department.
The disabled persons have faced problems of access to the polling station. There is a need for disabled-friendly voting devices, availability of assistance at the polling station and other such facilities. This survey by the Election Department will thus help in addressing such needs. “We will soon be conducting a meeting with other officials to design a plan for the house-to-house survey,” added Singh.
Voters in Pune
- Number of voters: 72.23 lakh
- Male voters: 37.84 lakh
- Female voters: 34.38 lakh
- Third gender: 141
