'Accessible Election' theme but inaccessible venue on National Voters Day

ECI celebrates #NationalVotersDay with ‘Accessible Elections’ as the theme but sadly at a disabled-UNFRIENDLY Manekshaw Centre 1/n pic.twitter.com/RSryS9KYUj

— Dr Satendra Singh (@drsitu) January 25, 2018

Isn’t it mockery of accessibility where Honble President of India is Chief Guest. Is the #a11y theme if ECI; PM’s Accessible India Canpaign only for name sake? 2/n pic.twitter.com/XJ5fQLwndf

— Dr Satendra Singh (@drsitu) January 25, 2018

No accessible stage either for National Awardees. Why the largest minority- people with disabilities- are always excluded in the largest democracy of the world 3/n pic.twitter.com/RRLdvwPYrS

— Dr Satendra Singh (@drsitu) January 25, 2018

No signages, no accessible washroom, no ramp on stage, entrance ramp without hand railings, dangerous ceilings for visually impaired 4/n pic.twitter.com/ftqhP9Oacu

— Dr Satendra Singh (@drsitu) January 25, 2018

Sadly neither President nor Law minister stressed on Accessible Elections for voters with disabilities 5/n

— Dr Satendra Singh (@drsitu) January 26, 2018

CEC mentioned that yesterday they had International Conference on inclusion of voters with disabilities. But where was the disability sector. ECI don’t talk about us, without us! 6/n

— Dr Satendra Singh (@drsitu) January 26, 2018

Access denied at EC event on accessible polls? https://t.co/6qY7r2eFsn

— TOI Cities (@TOICitiesNews) January 25, 2018

Correction: Neither I said nor I endorse the derogatory ‘wheelchair-bound’ word as quoted in the story. Why is it so difficult to say ‘wheelchair user’ #DisabilityEtiquette

— Dr Satendra Singh (@drsitu) January 26, 2018

Web Accessibility workshop at the Election Commission of India

Dr Satendra Singh, Amit Verma and Prashant Ranjan Verma at Election Commission of India

 We conducted a Web Accessibility workshop at the Election Commission of India on 1 February 2017. I took the inaugural session then Prashant Ranjan Verma (National Association for the Blind) and Amit Verma helped participants with hands on session on laptops. Disability Rights Alliance was involved in this too. We are happy to get opportunity to visit this organisation which is among the few respected by all.

Mr Vijay Dev (Deputy Election Commissioner) and Dr Satendra Singh

After the workshop participants from different states admitted that they were not aware of the barriers their websites had for person with disabilities and now they will try to comply with The web content accessibility guidelines WCAG.

Hope to see improvements in the election commission websites of Gujarat , Manipur, Urrarakhand and Uttar Pradesh soon.

'The Wire' has published a detailed article on our endeavours as how disability activists and EC worked to make assembly polls more accessible. It also highlights the pioneering work down by DM Azamgarh Suhash LY and his wife Additional DM Ritu Suhas in making elections disabled friendly.

Disability Activists and EC Work to Make Assembly Polls More Accessible (The Wire)

Special mobile apps, software, infrastructure, training for personnel and feedback mechanisms have been created to make voting easier for persons with disabilities.

Read the full article at this link.

#A11y #Accessibility #Inclusion #Disability

Disabled fret as only 400 wheelchairs for the Delhi polls as against last year's 2600

Disabled fret as only 400 wheelchairs for the polls

TIMES OF INDIA, 6th Feb 2015, Page 6

This election may not be a hassle-free affair for elderly and disabled voters. The number of wheelchairs provided to polling booths has been reduced to 400 from 2,600 in the general elections, the Election Commission's letter to chief electoral officer asking him to repeat “all measures taken in the past“ notwithstanding.

Worried activists are wondering why enough wheelchairs cannot be arranged seeing as the capital witnessed barrier free elections for the very first time in 2014 with the ministry of social justice and empowerment actually praising the `Delhi model'.

A letter dated February 1 from the office of the chief electoral officer to deputy electoral officers in the nine election districts said, “It is informed that only about 400 wheelchairs are being supplied by Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India .“ The chief electoral office decided it will provide one wheelchair each in 70 model polling stations and one each at locations where there are over 10 polling stations as well as in critical areas.

As a last-ditch effort, Dr Satendra Singh of University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi University, made a representation to the commissioner for disabilities to use quasi-judicial powers to resolve the problem.

“The last election, both people with disabilities as well as elderly citizens had a memorable experience thanks to availability of enough wheelchairs. Supreme Court guidelines clearly list out steps to enfranchise voters with disabilities and this should not be seen as a charitable effort. When 2,600 wheelchairs have been provided in the past, why can't the same be done on February 7?

When Stephen Hawking visited last time, the ministry of social justice and empowerment and Archeological Survey of India constructed temporary wooden ramps in one night to make monuments in Delhi accessible,“ Singh said.





List of inaccessible polling booths submitted to CEO Delhi

Delhi elections 2015: EC takes steps to make polling booths accessible to disabled

PTI. 1 Feb 2015

NEW DELHI: Ahead of the February 7 election, the Election Commission has been submitted a list of "troubled polling booths" in Delhi where differently-abled persons could face difficulties.

Deputy Chief Electoral officer AK Srivastava had called a meeting on January 27 with all the stakeholders to facilitate the differently-abled voters to exercise their franchise without any hassle during the upcoming assembly election.

Satendra Singh, RTI activist and professor of physiology at the University College of Medical Sciences who was present at the meeting, submitted a list of 11 polling booths which had proved trouble makers for voters with disability in the past.

In the presence of all three commissioners of civic bodies, measures taken during the last year's Lok Sabha election to facilitate such voters were reviewed and it was decided to repeat the same as they had proved successful.

Singh said he asked the government agencies such as Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MSJE), Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and Institute of Physically Handicapped (IPH) and Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi to provide wheelchairs at the polling booths.

"I have given a list of troubled polling booths which include 11 names from different parts of the capital so that steps can be taken to make them assessable for such voters who often prefer not to step out if such problems persist," said Singh

"This exercise to facilitate voters with disability will certainly raise the participation," Singh added.

During the Lok Sabha polls, Singh said almost 2,600 wheelchairs were provided by MSJE and DDA. This time, IPH is expected to provide 400 wheelchairs.

"I urge all the government bodies including MSJE and DDA to ensure that wheelchairs are in good numbers at the polling booths as measures taken during Lok Sabha elections were appreciated by almost all quarters," Singh said, adding that he would provide more names of inaccessible polling booths to CEO office in coming days.

The polling booths identified so far include Haveli Azam Khan, Chandni Chowk, booth no.56 at JNU, Mahroli Assembly, booth number A-28 in Subhash Nagar,block 26 Community Centre at West Patel Nagar, booths number 11, 12, 13, 14 in Rajokri, booth at SC/ST training centre, Dilshad Garden among others.

Singh said availability of wheelchairs at polling booths should be "non-negotiable".

"Thanks to Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation, last time here were around 2600 wheelchairs which helped not only voters with disabilities but also elderly citizens. Availability of wheelchairs at polling booths should be non-negotiable. Polling day is a day to celebrate Indian democracy and we all should contribute," said Singh.

He said, last time there was a provision of prior registration to know the number of voters with disabilities.

"This approach should continue or any other suitable method should be adopted by which we can know the exact number of voters with disabilities," Singh added.

Recalling physicist Stephen Hawking's visit to India and his wish to see monuments in Delhi, he said, "in one night, all these places were made accessible with temporary wooden ramps".

"When we can do this for our guests why can't we do it for our own voters with disabilities," he said.

Source: PTI news on Economic Times

Correction: I could not attend the meeting on 27th Jan at O/o CEO because of prior commitment at Chennai. I submitted the list of inaccessible booths later via email.

Top govt websites are not disabled-friendly

TIMES OF INDIA, 26 Aug 2014, NEW DELHI: An estimated 70 million disabled people in India have no accessibility to the information on top government websites. This is despite Indian government's guidelines for all government websites to comply as per the international accessibility standards. "The fact that the disabled friendly society is still not a priority for the government is apparent because barely 10 states sent their ministers and half that number of secretaries to the Centre's first conference to review disability affairs," said Thaawar Chand Gehlot,the union minister for social justice and empowerment on Saturday. 

Inspite of the ministry of social justice providing financial grant to make websites accessible for disabled under SIPDA (Scheme for Implementation of PWD Act), websites of key organizations like Supreme Court of India, Election Commission of India (ECI), University Grants Commission (UGC), Delhi University (DU), Jawaharlal Nehru University ( JNU), All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG), Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), Medical Council of India (MCI), National Human Right Commission (NHRC) and National Commission for Women (NCW) are still not disable friendly. 

An activist for disabled people, Dr Satendra Singh, wrote to the ECI in December 2013 to make its website accessible for the disabled voters. On receiving no response, he complained to the court of Chief Commissioner of Persons with Disabilities (CCPD). The ECI however did not respond to CCPD's letter or subsequent reminder as well. On July 31, 2014 CCPD again wrote to ECI to make their website disabled friendly in a time-frame and submit an action taken report in 30 days. "ECI website as of today still remains inaccessible," said Singh.

RTI replies revealed that no institute or university from Delhi ever asked for a SIDPA grant to make buildings accessible in 2010-11 and 2012-13. However, institutions and universities from states like Bihar, Mizoram, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Chhattisgarh have availed these grants in 2010-11, while Puducherry, Mizoram, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan in 2011-12 and Nagaland and Meghalaya in 2012-13. In another incident, DU's University College of Medical Sciences' proposal was turned down as it did not have the signature of the executive engineer. 

"On one hand the ministry is saying that the funds are under-utilized but on the other hand they are turning down proposals of deserving institutions despite the principal requesting for it," added Singh. 

Not all institutes who availed the grant have made their websites accessible. "MJP Rohilkhand University, Bareilly took Rs 4 lakhs to make its website accessible in 2010-11, while Puducherry was granted Rs 10 lakh in 2011-12 to make the website of the Directorate of Social welfare accessible. They are still out of reach," said Singh. MCI had asked all medical institutions to submit a compliance report on their disabled friendly initiatives, yet its own website is not as per the required standards. 

"The root cause of this indifference stems from the exclusion of disabled people in policy making/ decision taking. An accessible website will not only help a person with visual impairment/ low vision but also deaf, cognitive impaired and learning disabled," said Singh. 
Source: TOI

Election Commission warned to make websites disabled friendly

The Hindu, 18 Aug 2014
The ECI has been given a 30-day deadline (from July 31 onwards) to comply and make amends.

Pressure from disability rights activists has prompted the Court of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities to issue a stern warning and ultimatum to the Election Commission of India (ECI) asking it to make its website user friendly for persons with disability.

The ECI has been given a 30-day deadline (from July 31 onwards) to comply and make amends.

Dr. Satendra Singh, a polio survivor and assistant professor of physiology at the University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Tegh Bahadur Hospital, Delhi, who has been pursuing the case said: “The ECI has been directed to intimate the Court of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities within 30 days about the action taken on the direction.”

Dr. Singh added that while Delhi has made its website accessible for persons with disability the same has not been made available to the rest of the country.

“The visually impaired need to have a user-friendly website to ensure that they are able to make an informed choice before voting. Though we have been appealing to the ECI since December last year there has been no response from them,” said Dr. Singh.

“Despite my letters, the ECI did not budge and did not make their website accessible to disabled voters. There are Prime Minister Office (PMO) orders as well as guidelines whereby all government institutions must make their websites disabled-friendly. However, we are hoping that things will improve now,” said Dr. Singh.

Accusing the ECI of having violated the orders issued by the PMO in 2010, Dr. Singh said: “The current direction by the Court of the Chief Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities we hope will work favourably for the persons with disabilities and give them the right to vote in a well informed manner.’’

Source: The Hindu

Perseverance Pays: Call for inclusive elections (The Hindu)

Perseverance Pays: My media campaigning on the World Disability Day; before
the Delhi election; on the polling day; after the DE; complaint to ECI,
CCPD, DSEC; RTI to ECI, CEO Delhi; campaigning on National Voters Day and
subsequent media coverage is finally getting repaid. The CEO Delhi accepted
our suggestion for inclusive elections. Hard work and strategic planning
certainly works.

Todays 'The Hindu' covers the story:

Call for inclusive elections

Access audit of polling booths by persons with disabilities, pictorial
signage for those with hearing problems, provision for wheel-chair users on
the polling day and involvement of special educators to create videos for
educating the polling staff - these are among the suggestions placed before
the Delhi Election Commission earlier this week by a group of
representatives from various disability groups to ensure that persons with
disabilities are able to participate in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

Disability activist Dr. Satendra Singh, who is part of the group, said:
"The Election Commission in a meeting with our group acknowledged the
deficiencies and has promised to rectify it at the earliest. Attitudinal
barrier was acknowledged as the major hindrance."

Members from the Handicapped Welfare Federation have also demanded that
there should be a database of voters with disabilities and that staff from
the Delhi Social Welfare Department should monitor booths.

"We have also said that there is a need to include pictorial signage to
help persons with psychosocial disabilities. Also, persons with cerebral
palsy should have a companion to press the buttons. Currently the benefit
is given only to the blind. Provision of wheelchairs on polling day is also
a matter to be taken care of," added Dr. Singh.

Stating that the Commission should look at establishing a helpline number
for persons with disabilities, Dr. Singh added that special educators be
involved in creating videos for educating and creating awareness among
polling staff.

http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-newdelhi/call-for-inclusive-elections/article5807757.ece

विकलांगों के लिए गंभीर नहीं चुनाव आयोग (डॉ सत्येन्द्र सिंह की RTI )

पंजाब केसरी, २६ जनवरी २०१४

नई दिल्ली: देश में विकलांग मतदताओं को चुनाव के दौरान अक्सर कठिनाइयों का सामना करना पड़ता है, लेकिन राष्ट्रीय चुनाव आयोग इसे लेकर गंभीर नहीं लग रहा है। इस बात का खुलासा सूचना के अधिकार के तहत मांगी गई जानकारी से हुआ है।  गत दिनों दिल्ली सहित अन्य राज्यों में हुए विधान सभा चुनावों के दौरान भी विकलांग मतदाताओं को इनका खामियाजा भुगतना पड़ा है। 

 गुरूतेग बहादुर अस्पताल स्थित यूनिवर्सिटी  कालेज आफ मैडिकल साइंस में फिजियोलॉजी के प्रोफेसर एवं विकलांग अधिकारों के लिए लड़ाई लडऩे वाले डॉ. सत्येन्द्र सिंह ने जब सूचना के अधिकार के तहत विकलांग मतदाताओं की समस्याओं एवं उन्हें दूर करने के संबंध में किये गये प्रयासों की जानकारी राष्ट्रीय चुनाव आयोग से मांगी तो आयोग के जवाब चौंकाने वाले थे।

डॉ. सिंह ने का कहना है कि सरकार एक तरफ तो विकलांगों के सशक्तीकरण की बात कहती है, दूसरी तरफ राष्ट्रीय चुनाव आयोग के पास देश के विकलांग मतदाताओं के बारे में कोई डाटा ही नही है। इतना ही नेत्रहीन तो राष्ट्रीय चुनाव आयोग की वेबसाइट तक नही देख सकते जबकि प्रधानमंत्री कार्यालय, नेशनल इंर्फोमेटिक्स सेन्टर और मुख्य आयुक्त निशक्तजन की ओर से इस बारे में स्पष्ट निर्देश जारी किये गये है। आरटीआई से प्राप्त जानकारी का खुलासा करते हुए उन्होंने कहा कि उच्चतम न्यायालय ने 2004 में विकलांग मतदाताओं को जागरूक करने के लिए टीवी एवं अखबार के माध्यम से कैंपेन चलाने के निर्देश दिये थे। प्राप्त जानकारी के तहत आयोग ने अभी तक ऐसे कोई कदम नहीं उठाये हैं।

संबंधित संस्थाओं से संपर्क करने में भी कोताही

मतदान में विकलांग जनों की भागीदारी सुनिश्चत करने के लिए राष्ट्रीय चुनाव आयोग ने राज्यों एवं केन्द्र शासित प्रदेशों से कोई संपर्क नहीं किया। इसके अलावा आयोग ने विकलांगता के क्षेत्र में कार्य करने वाले किसी एनजीओ से भी विकलांग मतदाताओं की भागीदारी सुनिश्चत करने के लिए भी कोई संपर्क किया गया।

 

डॉ. सिंह ने कहा कि 2004 में जारी उच्चतम न्यायालय के निर्देशों का अभी तक पालन न किया जाना विकलांग मतदाताओं के मताधिकार का पूरी तरह हनन है। आम चुनाव में मुश्किल से 100 दिन बचे है। ऐसे में विकलांग मतदाताओं को होने वाली परेशानियों के निवारण के लिए हम अपनी आवाज नीति निर्माताओं, सरकार तक पहुंचाने का प्रयास कर रहे हैं। 

नवोदय टाइम्स, २६ जनवरी २०१४ 

RTI EXPOSE: Polls near, but no data of voters with disabilities

Times of India

Manash Pratim Gohain, TNN Jan 27, 2014, 05.32AM IST 

NEW DELHI: Even as India celebrates "National Voters' Day" last Saturday, the world's largest democracy is ill-prepared to safeguard electoral rights of voters with disabilities.

The general elections are just a couple of months away, and the Election Commission (EC) has no record of voters with disabilities. Despite orders from the offices of the Prime Minister of India, National Informatics Centre and chief commissioner for People with Disabilities (PwDs), the website of the EC is still not accessible to electors with visual disabilities.

While the Supreme Court too directed the EC to create adequate awareness for electors with disabilities through mass media campaigns, information availed via Right to Information revealed that no separate awareness campaign has been created for disabled voters.

RTIs also revealed that EC has no record on electoral speeches and debates of candidates made available to hearing-impaired voters through sign language interpreters and subtitling and the commission has sent no communication to the CEO of states and union territories to involve maximum electors with disabilities.

The National Voters' Day, being celebrated on January 25 since 2011, is dedicated to the constitutional rights of adult suffrage granted to every India citizen, irrespective of religion, race, caste, community, language, region or socio-economic considerations.

In the Delhi assembly elections in December, RTI activist and a doctor with disability at University College of Medical Science, Delhi University, Dr Satendra Singh campaigned before and after the polling day on the hurdles faced by electors with disability.

"I complained to state commissioner for PwD when many disabled voters could not vote in Delhi elections due to inaccessible polling booths. In response, the commissioner only submitted an old letter where he wrote to the chief electoral officer about guidelines to follow. The message is clear: we are not vote banks and those who are supposed to be safeguarding our rights are sitting idle, doing nothing," said Singh.

When asked via RTI: "Are the issues of persons with disabilities covered in Systemic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP)?", the EC replied in negative. To another question asking for "details of persons with disabilities and organizations for disability consulted to ensure maximum participation of electors with disability?", the reply said "no information available."

Source: Times of India, page 10 dated 27 Jan 2014