Right to vote is a fundamental right of every Indian citizen, irrespective of his caste, colour, race, religion, region, everyone has been guaranteed the right to freely and fairly choose his/her representative. But, the disabled especially the visually impaired often find their basic right being compromised. At the global level, NGOs are raising the issue of making the democracy accessible to visually impaired too.
For the first time, visually impaired in Punjab will not be at disadvantageous position or relying on anyone while casting their vote. In a move that empowers the visually impaired to have their voice heard, Chandigarh-based Institute For Blind has designed special ballot papers in Punjabi braille language on an order by the Punjab election office.
They can read the information on specially designed ballot papers and then cast their vote on EVM. All EVMs have Braille impressions and these persons do not require assistance from others.
The printing of these specially designed ballot papers have been done in the institute. In total, 24,873 ballot papers for the 117 assembly seats have been designed with additional 2,258 ballot papers kept in reserve. The highest number of such ballot papers will be used in Ludhiana (2994), followed by Amritsar (2,168) and Jalandhar (2,016).
Institute for Blind secretary B D Sharma shared,”We do not want that they should be at a disadvantage. Now they can they can exercise their right to vote on their own.”
Surely, an empowering move in strengthening Indian democracy!
Source: Times of India
Image Courtesy: Google Images
