Delhi Elections 2015: Few model polling stations fail to impress voters

NEW DELHI: Model polling stations in Delhi might have promised to make voting a pleasant experience but a few of them failed to live up to the expectations in the absence of wheelchairs and clean toilets.

Most of the model polling stations in north Delhi did not have adequate seating arrangements as elderly and disabled voters were seen waiting in queues outside the booths.

"I cannot stand in the same position for long time and there is no place to sit. Instead, they have rolled out a carpet which was not at all required," said 72-year-old Shashi Devi, who had come to cast her vote with her daughter.

At the polling station in BB Block Shalimar Bagh, disabled voters were forced to bring wheelchairs from their homes as there was no such facility available there.

When asked about this, Sector Officer AK Das said, "Actually, the wheelchair was needed at another polling booth. There are three polling booths in Shalimar Bagh and we were provided with only two wheelchairs."

Similar was the situation at the model polling station in Krishna Nagar constituency, from where BJP's chief ministerial candidate is contesting the elections.

"It was literally challenging for us to vote," said a middle-aged voter who suffered from Arthritis.

The model polling stations in south, west and central Delhi, however, had good arrangements in place with dedicated waiting lounges, wheelchairs and freshly-painted interiors and exteriors.