1,000 wheelchairs kept ready in Vellore for polls

Addressing reporters, Raman said that the district had a total of 17,966 differently-abled persons, including 1,347 in Jolarpet constituency, 1,139 in Tirupattur, 1,540 in Ambur, 1,563 in Vaniyambadi, 1,632 in KV Kuppam, 1,438 in Gudiyattam, 1,291 in Anaicut, 1,125 in Arakkonam, 1,688 in Sholingur, 1,069 in Katpadi, 2,319 in Arcot and 678 in Vellore.

While the district’s 743 panchayats provided one wheelchair each, the rest were procured from the general funds. Two volunteers from the district Nehru Yuva Kendra will be stationed at each polling booth to push the wheelchairs. , Raman added.

State planning commission member secretary and election observer Anil Meshram visited various polling booths in Vellore and Arakkonam Parliamentary constituencies, besides inspecting booths in Gudiyattam, Ambur and Sholingur Assembly segments. Meshram, who ensured that ramps with handrails were in place at the booths, asked the officials to ensure similar facilities were available in all the 3,456 polling centres in the district.