Differently abled woman forced to crawl to booth

Amit Bathla

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, December 27

Savitri, a 55-year-old differently abed woman, turned up at the Sector 17 Government Model Primary School polling booth on her tricycle around 11 am to cast her vote as a responsible citizen.

To her dismay, the polling station, which was not too far from Haryana Speaker and local MLA Gian Chand Gupta’s residence, had no wheelchair facility.

Savitri subsequently waited for around 40 minutes inside the school premises while hoping for a wheelchair, which would ensure her mobility into the booth.

The absence of a wheelchair, however, did not deter her enthusiasm to vote and she crawled with her hands to the polling booth.

As Savitri began gasping for air after vigorous physical activity, poll officials in the voting compartment stared at each other as there was no drinking water available to offer her.

After casting her vote, she came out and urged, “Everybody should caste his/her vote.”

Officials of the Election Commission at the polling booth told Chandigarh Tribune that they were not provided with a wheelchair for differently abled persons.

An official, on the condition of anonymity, said there was little or no support from the state Election Commission and the local administration not just for voters, but poll officials as well.

“Whether it was providing meals or bedding for the night, they (authorities) failed on all fronts,” he alleged.

Savitri was not alone. There were many senior citizens and differently abled persons who had a tough time while casting their vote.

Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Election Officer Mukesh Kumar Ahuja and other election officials had promised a seamless voting experience for voters, claiming adequate arrangements for all 275 booths for the Panchkula Municipal Corporation elections.

The voters’ experience, however, was not so pleasant.