Elderly, differently abled vote through postal ballot from their homes

Braving heavy snowfall and rain in Chamoli district, sixty polling parties of the Election Commission on Thursday made voting facilities available to senior citizens, differently abled and voters suffering from COVID-19 at their homes.

Braving heavy snowfall and rain in Chamoli district, sixty polling parties of the Election Commission on Thursday made voting facilities available to senior citizens, differently abled and voters suffering from COVID-19 at their homes. Postal ballot facilities have been made available for the first time to voters in these categories in Uttarakhand, a poll official here said. The exercise was carried out amid heavy snowfall in Joshimath and Pokhri areas of Badrinath constituency. Most of the places located above 3000 metres in Chamoli district received snow on Thursday while the lower areas were lashed by rain.

The Election Commission introduced this initiative in these elections for the convenience of the elderly and the differently able. Noted environmentalist 88-year-old Chandi Prasad Bhatt who was among 251 such voters to avail the facility praised the Election Commission for the initiative saying it was especially of great convenience for people of these categories living in difficult terrain. It will also help increase polling percentage in the hills, he said. Senior citizens above 80 years and 251 differently able persons from the three assembly constituencies of Badrinath, Karnaprayag and Tharali located in the district had applied for exercising their franchise through postal ballot from their homes, a poll official said.

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