Mysore/Mysuru: In preparation for the Lok Sabha polls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) is enhancing the services offered through the Saksham app to better accommodate voters with disabilities exceeding 40 percent (physically challenged) and senior citizens aged 85 and above.

The Saksham app for physically challenged voters offers a range of features including registration as physically challenged, new voter registration, transfer of vote from one location to another, requests to change polling stations, wheelchair assistance, searching for names in the voter list, locating polling stations and facilities for registering complaints, locating polling officers, and checking booth locator status.

Individuals with various disabilities such as blindness, low vision, deafness, hearing loss, physical disabilities, mental illnesses (psychosocial disabilities), leprosy, intellectual disabilities, cerebral palsy, dwarfism, muscular dystrophy, acid attack survivors, speech and language disabilities, specific learning disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, chronic neurological disorders including multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease, blood disorders including haemophilia, thalassemia and sickle cell anaemia, as well as those with multiple disabilities, are eligible to enrol and utilise the app’s services.

As per the Election Commission guidelines, polling stations designated for disabled voters will be situated on the ground floor across all locations. These stations will be equipped with essential amenities such as drinking water, waiting sheds, medical kits, accessible toilets, sufficient electric lighting, ramps, and wheelchair facilities.

Additionally, priority entry will be provided for disabled individuals and senior citizens, along with separate queuing facilities and standardised signage.

Volunteers will be stationed at polling stations to offer assistance as needed. Furthermore, Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) will feature Braille and other assistive facilities to accommodate visually and physically challenged voters.

According to K.M. Gayathri, CEO of Zilla Panchayat and Chairperson of Mysuru District Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) Committee, ECI has introduced Saksham App to facilitate voters’ participation.

Special voters listed in the electoral roll can utilise this app to access comprehensive info related to elections, details about polling station facilities, pre-booking options for tricycles for transportation, recording distance travelled and accessing poll-related articles and messages issued by ECI.