DANG: People with disabilities said they had faced significant problems when polling centres were not being accessible for them in the previous elections.

Ajaya Sharma, President of Rapti Hearing Impaired Association Dang, demanded polling centres be disability-friendly in the upcoming election on March 5 taking into consideration the challenges experienced in past elections.

He noted that tall tables made it difficult for short people to vote. Likewise, polling centres lacking bilingual assistance also made it hard for them to understand as well, Sharma added.

“It becomes difficult for short people to reach tall tables, which can obstruct franchise rights of voters with disabilities”, he said.

He commented there were situations where disabled people could not easily reach the polling centre and that this should also be considered.

He stressed that all polling centres should pay attention to fix such issues. “While people with disabilities are considered a vote bank, problems arise when polling centres are not made accessible for them”.

Similarly, visually impaired teacher Ram Bahadur Khadka also reported that persons with disabilities are always discriminated in elections.

He complained that he is a government teacher but not being assigned for election duties. “Even though a teacher was assigned for election work in last election, he was sent back questioning ability to perform”, Khadka lamented.