The Election Commission of India (ECI), on the eve of International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Friday felicitated the Indian Deaf Cricket Team at Nirvachan Sadan here.

Welcoming the team, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Rajiv Kumar said the ECI salutes the resilience and tenacity demonstrated by the players. The team has brought laurels to the country by winning the T20 Champions Trophy held in the UAE by the Deaf International Cricket Council.

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Kumar said that it is important to accord due publicity and visibility to the winners. The ECI will explore the possibility of sponsoring a match of the Indian Deaf Cricket Association team with mainstream cricket teams, he said.

The ECI also organised a sensitisation training workshop for officers of the Commission on ‘Diversity and Inclusion’ by Padmashri Dr Niru Kumar, ECI National Icon, to mark the International Day of PwDs.

Kumar said the ECI is committed to the concept and practice of accessibility in ensuring a new normal of enabling environment in the entire election process ecosystem from registration to voting.

Kumar elaborated that with administrative and technological innovations ECI have developed a one stop solution in the form of an APP – Saksham App – for enabling and facilitating the PwDs from enrolment to poll day facilities.

The PwDs electors can avail various services provided by the ECI enabling their participation in the election process, thus making them Saksham. The App can be downloaded from Google Play Store and Apple Store, he said.

He said the ECI is implementing several measures to ensure accessible facilitation at the polling stations, making them conducive for Persons with Disabilities to cast their vote without any hassles.

Notified checklists for provisions such as polling stations on ground floor, standardised ramps, wheelchairs, volunteers, EVM with braille and ballot paper, braille EPIC, accessible toilets, tactile signage, sign language interpreters and pick up drop facility are made available in polling stations.

Kumar said that ECI has also provided the option of postal ballot facility to PwDs with 40 per cent benchmarked disability to vote from the comfort of their homes.