To ensure that even people with physical constraints participate in Assembly polls in Jammu and Kashmir, the Election Commission has made special arrangements for more than 3,000 specially-abled voters of Kathua district.
The Election Commission, with help from various government departments, have identified 3,615 specially-abled voters in five Assembly segments of Kathua district under the "Rehbar" scheme.
Besides, around 2,000 voters aged 75 and above have also been identified and they will get special assistance to reach their polling station and return home.
"To ensure 100 per cent participation of all 3,615 specially-abled voters in the five Assembly constituencies in Kathua district, special arrangements have been made," District Election Officer of Kathua Shahid Iqbal Choudhary said.
"Apart from this, more than 2,000 voters aged 75 and above have also been identified and we would provide them with assistance to reach polling stations and return home," he said.
Choudhary said during a survey conducted by the administration a month ago, it was found that less than 10 per cent of such voters had turned up to vote in the previous elections.
"In the first week of October, a drive was launched through 625 Booth Level Officers and Polling Booth Area Teams (PBATs) for door-to-door survey to identify such voters so as to organise facilities for them, including deployment of assistants, transportation and priority at the polling booths," Choudhary said.
He said after a comprehensive identification process, all such voters were being provided with one assistant each, appointed by Assistant Returning Officers.
"The process is being supervised by District Election Officer, Returning Officers, Zonal and Sector Magistrates in the district. Administration is targeting identification of 100 per cent specially-abled and voters aged above 75 for their 100 per cent electoral participation," he said.
Choudhary said, "The idea behind this mammoth exercise was to ensure electoral inclusion of such excluded groups and to give them a feeling of belonging towards democratic system in the country."
"We have tried to reach out to every household to identify such voters through BLOs, PBATs, sarpanchs, panchs, lamberdars, chowkidars and other stakeholders through a series of meetings organised over a period of two months," Choudhary said.
