Many polling booths in the city remain inaccessible to the disabled, finds audit
Disability rights activists, accompanied by GCC officials, visited schools in Anna Nagar, Ennore, and Velachery and found that they had broken ramps, inaccessible toilets, and poor lighting
Broken ramps, inaccessible toilets, and poor lighting are just some of the issues that plague schools used as polling booths in the city, finds an access audit conducted by disability rights activists.
As various groups visited the polling booths with the officials of the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC) to check its accessibility, many noted that the existing ramps were built at an incline on which it would be difficult to propel a wheelchair independently. Though the deadline for the Accessible India Campaign was June 2022, most public spaces continue to pose hurdles for the disabled community.
Visiting booths in Anna Nagar, Ennore, and Velachery, it was found that none of them had toilets nor drinking water facilities accessible to the disabled.
“The ramps are too steep, so after a point we will only slide backwards. Additionally, the absence of a second lower rail makes it difficult for persons with dwarfism to climb,” said P. Saravanan, chairman, Disabled Social Justice Movement, who is also one of the ambassadors for accessible elections.
Most of the schools had a sandfilled playground, which would make crossing them without assistance difficult for those on wheelchairs. To remedy this, civic body officials have promised to lay out a carpet for easy wheelchair movement. As the schools closed on April 12 for the election, the officials have only just begun setting up the booths.
Pointing to the short ramp and breaks in the railing, Vaishnavi Jayakumar, member of the Disability Rights Alliance, said wheelchairs would get stuck in these gaps. “The classes are not well lit, which would make it difficult for people with poor vision to vote. Most of the toilets are inaccessible too,” she added.
Smitha Sadasivan, a member of the Disability Rights Alliance, also noted that many times the officials missed rectifying the short steps to the classrooms, which further hinders the disabled as it requires a kerb ramp. “The booths have to be fully accessible. Even a small hindrance makes the entire experience inaccessible and affects one’s dignity when he or she has to be lifted,” she noted.
Stating that school authorities do not listen to their inputs, she said: “I audited a polling booth at a private school and found their wooden ramp too steep. When I had a discussion about the accessibility of a public place, such as a school, even though it is a mandate, the manager said that they did not have any students with disabilities and so there was no need for ramps or accessible infrastructure in their school. It is not just the work of one department but multiple departments, such as the School Education Department, too.”