Even as the Election Commission had been claiming that all arrangements were made to make the booths more accessible to voters, the differently abled found it difficult to cast votes in the rain as they were not given wheelchairs.

The election commission had arranged wheelchairs and ramps in most the booths to help differently abled access the booths easily.

Volunteers were also deployed in all the booths and a wheel chair each was installed in some booths and two were provided in cluster booths were more than 4 booths were present.

However, the wheelchairs could not be utilized completely as the volunteers who were supposed assist by moving them around did not volunteer support in some booths.

Since it was raining, the aged who arrived at the polling stations were only looking to enter into the booth but could not find anyone to assist them with the wheel chairs.

It was a sad sight to watch volunteers sit insensitively beside the wheelchair even as the senior citizens walked past them.

“We want to vote, but we are unable to walk even 10-20 meters. I just think there are not enough wheelchairs in the booths. EC should have identified booths with more senior citizens and made necessary arrangements,” said Kannappan, a senior citizen from the South Constituency.

Meanwhile, ramp facilities were also unavailable in some booths as senior citizens had to get down from the wheelchairs, climb the stairs and proceed to the booths.

While the situation was such in some booths, in some others like Race Course, the senior citizens refrained from using the wheel chairs.

According to a volunteer, even old persons who were not able to walk without support did not want the assistance of a wheelchair despite being requested to make use of the same.

“I asked all of them. No one was willing to use it. May be they would feel like sick had they been taken around in wheelchairs,” he said.