Bengal assembly polls 2021: Voters with disabilities demand better accessibility from parties

KOLKATA: Representatives of multiple political parties contesting in this year’s elections took on questions from a group of voters with disabilities on Tuesday as they demanded the party’s vision and programmes in the context of disability.
The panel discussion was organised by a city-based NGO, NIP , where the party representatives were asked to dig into their party manifesto and elaborate the steps – if any – they plan to take to make life a bit easier for PWDs if they come to power.
The election commission have introduced a slew of steps for the persons with disabilities — including the option to vote from home, mandatory voting booths on ground floor and and priority queue at all voting centres across the state.
“We didn’t demand for better allowances or perks for the disabled. We simply sought better infrastructure and accessibility that can make life a lot easier for disabled without an escort. We demand bus stops where the disabled can get on a wheelchair using the bus ramp and get down by themselves and head to school or work. It’s a basic demand for any human being to live life independently,” said Debajyoti Roy, general secretary of the NGO.
Representing the PWDs, IICP faculty, Saswati Chatterjee — who suffers from lower limb disability — began the address while Amiya Biswas, a completely blind senior Customs official, spoke of their struggles.
Fuad Halim of CPI(M) said their manifesto speaks in detail about the disability rights. BJP’s Rajib Biswas and Congress’ Soumya Aich Roy both claimed they had a slew of projects for the PWDs. The TMC representative could not show up due to some unavoidable reasons.