THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A section of booth level officers (BLO) has come out against Election Commission officials for their failure to ensure “minimum basic” facilities listed by the commission during the Lok Sabha polls.
BLOs allege that wheelchairs were not made available for elderly voters despite the allocation of funds for the same in all polling booths, which forced them to lift the voters in chairs.
At the four polling booths in Jawahar Nagar LP School, Thiruvananthapuram, long queues were formed as early as 7am. The school is one of the VVIP polling booths as several prominent personalities from all walks of lives cast their votes there. Senior Congress leader K Muraleedharan, BJP veteran O Rajagopal, Trivandrum Latin Archdiocese former archbishop M Soosa Pakiam, his successor Thomas J Netto, serving and retired bureaucrats, and a few film stars usually hog the limelight on the poll day.
This time, a sizeable number of the elderly belonging to both sexes had a harrowing time when they came to vote. S Syedali, who has been working as a BLO in the Jawahar Nagar LP School for the past two decades, told TNIE that this Lok Sabha election was the toughest to serve.
“Several elderly people came to cast their votes despite poor health and the scorching conditions. Dr E M Malathi, daughter of former chief minister EMS Namboodiripad, was brought in an ambulance to exercise her franchise. On realising there was no wheelchair, she was stretchered out of the ambulance and made to sit on it. Similarly, 83-year-old N Kamala Bai was lifted in a chair and taken to her booth number 89,” said Syedali, who works with the Kerala State Beverages Corporation headquarters.
Another BLO, Shajilal, who works with the survey and land records department, said the Election Commission had especially earmarked funds to procure wheelchairs in polling booths with a sizeable number of elderly voters.
“A ramp has been constructed at the rear of the school, which is of no use. As BLOs, we had urged the EC to ensure we are provided with wheelchairs so as to assist the elderly. Four of us, including a woman employee from the secretariat, were not provided with drinking water or even food. Thanks to politicians, we received food,” Shajilal said.