Elderly voters brave lack of wheelchairs, ramps for ballot

Elderly voters in Lucknow turned up to vote in civic elections despite physical limitations and lack of facilities like ramps and wheelchairs. Some had to walk using a walking stick to cast their vote. However, some elderly voters faced issues with their names missing from the electoral list, leading to frustration.

LUCKNOW Notwithstanding their physical limitations or absence of crucial facilities like ramps and wheelchairs, several elderly voters turned up at polling booths to cast their vote in the civic elections on Thursday. Despite queues and the midday heat, their élan was comparable to that of the first-time voters.

A girl accompanied with her grandfather to the polling booth. (Deepa Gupta)

At the Purva Madhyamaki Vidhyalay in Chinhat, 82-year-old Ram Kumar exercised his franchise along with his 75-year-old wife Kunti Devi. The couple had to walk all the way inside the booth using a walking stick to cast their vote as no wheelchairs were made available at the centre.

Similarly, facilities for disabled and elderly voters were found far from convincing at the Rani Laxmi Bai Memorial School in Chinhat where 80-year-old Radhe Shyam Shukla exercised his franchise.

However, several cases of names missing from the electoral list really tested the patience of elderly voters, who made extra-mile efforts to participate in the democratic process. “Firstly, there were no wheelchairs at the Unity College polling booth in Hussainabad. Nevertheless, I walked for several metres only to find out that my name was missing from the list. I even went to another polling station to find my name but in vain. They did not even allow us to take our car inside the premises. Special arrangements should be made for elderlies,” said 73-year-old Asha Arora.