Equipped with Braille,EVMs come handy for 2500 blind voters

Rajkot, Dec 11 (UNI) About 2500 visually impaired persons today exercised their franchise in Saurashtra with the help of new generation Electronic Voting Machines, equipped with Braille script.

Earlier, such voters could cast their ballot only under guidance of the presiding officer.

This time, the new EVMs with Braille script on the button, enabled them to vote on their own.

According to Labhubhai Sonai of the National Association of Blind, 2500 persons cast their ballots in Bhavnagar, Surendranagar, Junagadh, Jamnagar, Porbandar districts of the state.

The EVMs also have a special kind of data storage card, which can retain data for five years. "These machines, in the event of election disputes, can also be used as evidence", election officials stated.

India has largest number of blind people in the world. Of the total 37 million visually impaired people, over 15 million are from India.

UNI