Tiruchirapalli (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 23 (ANI): In the Srirangam Assembly constituency of Tiruchirappalli, several visually impaired persons reside in the Gandhi Nagar area. At the Panchayat Union Primary School in this locality, a total of 99 visually impaired voters are eligible to cast their votes. A separate polling booth has been set up exclusively for them, and voting is underway.

So far, 77 voters have cast their votes at this polling station.

Special arrangements have been made to facilitate voting for the visually impaired. The voting machines are equipped with Braille features to enable independent voting. Additionally, visually impaired voters are allowed to bring an assistant to help them cast their vote. Facilities such as ramps and accessible walkways have been provided, along with temporary shelters to protect voters from the heat.

Speaking with ANI, Chandrasekaran, a visually impaired voter, said that the community took back its decision to boycott the election owing to the lack of accessible facilities, after the necessary arrangements were made by the Election Commission.

'We came to this polling station to cast our votes. A few months ago, we had decided to boycott the election due to the lack of basic facilities. However, based on the assurances given by the officials, we have now exercised our democratic duty by casting our votes in this election. We express our gratitude to the Election Commission for making these arrangements.'

Another visually impaired voter, Muthukumar, also expressed gratitude towards the EC for the special arrangements.

'Even though we are visually impaired, we have come here to fulfil our democratic duty at this special polling station. We express our gratitude to the Election Commission of India for making these arrangements,' he said.

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu witnessed massive voter turnout in Assembly polls on Thursday, recording 62.18 per cent and 56.81 per cent respectively at 1 pm, according to the Election Commission of India.

In Tamil Nadu, the highest turnout of 62.97 per cent was in Tiruppur district, followed by Namakkal at 62.51 per cent, then Erode at 61.97 per cent. Chennai district registered a turnout of 54.58 per cent, Coimbatore at 58.24 per cent and Madurai at 54.75 per cent. The lowest voter turnout was recorded in the Nilgiris at 50.42 per cent.

Polling for the 234 Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu and 152 constituencies in West Bengal began amid tight security this morning. The voting will conclude at 6:00 pm today. Polling in the remaining constituencies in West Bengal is slated for May 29, and counting of votes will take place on May 4.

The main contest is expected between the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance, which includes the Congress, DMDK and VCK, and the National Democratic Alliance led by AIADMK with BJP and PMK as allies. (ANI)