the goan I network
VASCO
Several wheelchairs had been made available for voters with physical disabilities for the recent Lok Sabha polls and they are now lying unused in one corner of the Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) building.
Expressing concern over the unused wheelchairs, locals on Thursday demanded that the wheelchairs be put to good use or be donated to NGOs.
According to sources, the wheelchairs were made available by the election commission at all polling stations for disabled voters during the recent LS elections to enable them actively participate in the elections and cast their votes.
After the elections, the wheel chairs have been sent to the MMC building and have been stored in one corner, raising concerns among locals that the new wheelchairs could rust after being exposed in the monsoons.
Locals have demanded that the brand new wheelchairs be distributed to the needy or hospitals, instead of letting the wheelchairs rust and leading to wastage of
public funds.
MMC Councillor Nilesh Navelkar said making available the wheelchairs at polling stations had been a
great initiative.
“Though it was a great initiative, these wheelchairs have been brought back to the MMC building and are
lying idle.
“Instead of getting spoilt in one rainy season, these wheelchairs should instead be offered to the needy or government hospitals or even orphanages and NGOs, who could put them to good use. I request the election commission to come out with a solution to these wheelchairs,” said Navelkar.
Social Activist Jayesh Shetgaonkar said the Election Commission had already identified the number of disabled voters.
“These wheelchairs should have been given to disabled voters during elections on election day itself so that the disabled voters could have used it carefully and also used it for the further elections as well.”
“This would have eliminated the need for MMC to store it in a corner and let it get spoilt. We spend crores of rupees to give facilities to disabled voters, but let it get spoilt by stacking it in a corner. These wheelchairs could also be given to the hospitals with a condition that it would be taken back during the next elections,” said Shetgaonkar.
