Special measures in place to increase participation of PwD voters in elections

Bhubaneswar: Special measures have been taken to ensure increased participation of persons with disabilities (PwDs) and aged voters in the simultaneous elections in Odisha, said chief electoral officer on Thursday.

Participating in a sensitisation meeting, organised by the Election Commission of India through video-conference on the day, the CEO said there were 4,57,827 PwD electors present in Final Electoral Roll, 2024, in the state. Now, there are 5,16,330 PwD electors in the E-Roll marking a rise of 12% rise in the enrolment of PwD electors.

Iinstructions have also been issued to all the districts to take special measures for the identification and enrolment of all eligible PwD voters in the E-Roll, the CEO said.

On the infrastructure in polling stations, the CEO said all 37,809 polling stations are situated on ground floors to facilitate voting for the aged and PwDs electors. Permanent ramps not exceeding gradient of 1:12 have been provided at polling stations.

Besides, the arrangement of separate queue for PwD and senior citizen voters will be ensured and priority given to PwDs for entering the polling stations without having to wait in the queue. Chairs will be placed as per requirements at the polling stations for the ease of voters.

As many as 39,999 wheelchairs have been arranged for 37,809 booths in the state. Out of this, 14,054 wheelchairs have been sent to the districts so far and the rest will be sent by March 30. A helpline will also work at the district level to resolve various complaints of the PwDs and elderly voters.

The CEO also said a two-day training programme was organised for the district level police officers by the Chief Electoral Officer at the Biju Patnaik State Police Academy for ensuring a free and fair election process in the state. The District Level Senior Police Officers were trained as “District Level Master Trainers in Election Management”.