Spirited disabled voters throng well-equipped poll booths

Wheelchair bound Poonam, a blind woman with half her body paralysed, could not speak but happily flashed her inked finger to everyone at the Karaval Nagar polling booth under North-east Delhi constituency.
This was not the first time she was casting her vote but Poonam, accompanied by her father, was equally excited about exercising her franchise.
Watching 60-year-old Ratan Singh enter the Burari poll on crutches, two volunteers rushed towards him with a wheelchair, but he moved forward to the polling room on his own.
Differently abled voters, who had to face difficulties while exercising their franchise in the recently concluded Delhi Assemble elections held in December 2013, were a happy lot after witnessing improved and accessible polling booths across the capital.

The Delhi Election Commission had provided a wheelchair and two volunteers at each polling station to ensure better accessability to differently-abled voters.
"Unlike the Delhi Assembly elections, the arrangements in and around the polling stations were surprisingly good. I was offered a wheel chair by an assistant as soon as I arrived to cast my vote at Modern Public School in Barakhamba Road," said Ramesh Kumar.
RTI activist Dr Satendra Singh had raised the issue of inadequate facilities for disabled voters at polling stations.
"I visited more than 40 polling stations to check if the promises made by the concerned officials have been fulfilled. I felt extremely happy to see the things changed this time as each polling booth had at least one wheelchair with an attendant," he said.