PANAJI: The International Day for Person with Disabilities was marked with a PwD voter awareness programme by the office of Goa's Chief Electoral Officer.
In an even at the Sanjay Centre for Special Education, Porvorim CEO Kunal, IAS, gave PwD voters a lowdown on various initiatives taken for them and to make the democratic exercise accessible to the best possible extent.
Kunal asked representatives of various organisations working to assist PwDs and Divyang Mitra to be part of Accessible Election campaigns and enroll PwD voters on ERONET. He also urged the CSO and PwD voters to cast their vote in large numbers at the forthcoming election.
Meanwhile a guide for Booth Level Officers (BLOs) on appropriate behaviour towards divyangjan and accessible election which has been produced by Sudesh Gaude, Nodal Officer Accessible, was also launched by Kunal.
An EVM/VVPAT demonstration was also carried out for the PwD voters by Master Trainers and an elocution competition held on ‘Ethical Voting’ in which Persons with Hearing Impairment ageed between 16 and 40 participated. Josefina Fernandes performed the role of sign language interpreter at the event.
Among the 15 participants, Prasad Joshi was picked the winner while Sharvari Kulkarni and Gangadhar won the first and second runner-up positions. Justine and Sagar Kerkar were awarded consolation prizes and spot prizes were given to five other participants who answered questions related to Accessible Elections.
