People with disability in Karnataka fight to make election count

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In a major victory for people with disabilities, about 50,000 voting machines could be equipped with Braille and ramps erected at all polling booth for the coming assembly election in Karnataka. The state chief electoral officer, M. N. Vidyashankar, gave this assurance to disability activists who had gone to meet him on April 9, 2008 under the banner of Karnataka Angavikalara Rajya Okkoota (KARO), an ActionAid supported initiative. "It hardly costs Rs. 5 to insert Braille feature on the voting machine. But it helps a visually challenged person to be independent of others while making a choice," N. P. Ramachandran, district secretary of KARO, was quoted as saying in a media report. Mr Vidyashankar promised that a circular will be issued soon to all officials concerned to ensure that each polling booth has a ramp and Braille equipped voting machines so that persons with disabilities....