Sheet magnifiers and Braille ballot papers at polling booths to help district's visually-impaired voters
Tricycles are being used to create awareness among voters in the interiors of the district
Chandrapur: In order to get its 900-odd visually-impaired voters cast their votes with ease on polling day, the Chandrapur district, for the first time, has introduced high-contrast sheet magnifiers and Braille ballot papers.
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The naxal-affected region of Chandrapur will go to poll on April 11. The district has a population of 21.94 lakh people, of which 18.59 lakh are registered voters and nearly 30,000 are new voters. Eighteen of the 2,131 polling stations have been declared sensitive, as they are located in thick forest areas bordering the naxal belt of Gadchiroli and Telangana.
Dr Kunal Khemnar examines a high contrast sheet magnifier. Pics/Suresh Karkera
"The election budget for the district is approximately R6 crore. This time around, based on voter feedback and the guidelines of the Election Commission, we tried to incorporate several new measures to ensure more people come out and vote," said Khemnar, adding that special attention was paid to its visually-impaired voters.
Of the 6,269 disabled registered voters in Chandrapur, 896 voters are visually impaired — 596 are completely blind and the remaining, partially blind. "We have procured around 200 magnifiers from Mumbai, at a cost of R180 each," said Dr Kunal Khemnar, district collector. Both, the Braille ballot papers and sheet magnifiers will be placed in polling stations across the region.
Post the elections, the magnifiers will be sealed in envelopes for reuse in the future. "We may even distribute them in the two schools for the visually-impaired in Chandrapur," said Khemnar. Apart from this, authorities are using tricycles with loudspeakers playing jingles, to spread awareness about the elections in the interiors of the region. "The initiative was the brainchild of Pravin Takey, who is our district information officer," said Khemnar.
Artistes have also been roped in to organise street plays to highlight various elections issues. Short plays on ethical voting are being performed in villages across the district. Nearly 3.73 lakh secondary and college students have got their parents to take the 'promise note,' stating that they will vote this election. "We want to ensure free, fair and peaceful polling this time," said Khemnar.
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