Senior Citizens Turn Up Early to Cast Votes

Hyderabad: A notable number of senior citizens showed up early to vote. Special facilities were arranged for elderly voters and the disabled, including the provision of wheelchairs and the option to vote at home for those unable to reach polling stations.

Of the 103 eligible senior and differently-abled voters, 93 voters cast their votes at home ahead of the main voting day. Senior citizen Vasundhara Devi, who was waiting in the queue to vote in Shaikpet, said, “It has almost become a tradition for me to wake up early and cast my vote. The staff offered me a wheelchair so that I could get in easily, but I refused and got in the queue.”

“There is a lot of dust problem in my colony. The road is not well paved and almost half of the road is a dirt road. People in the colony have complained many times but no one has done anything. I hope they will consider the development of our area,” he said.

In an interesting example, senior assistant Murthi, who moved from Chennai to Hyderabad in 2019, said the updated address in the voter card was correct but was not available in the electoral roll. “They changed it at the state level, not at the central level. We have lived here for five years and we voted, but all this confusion,” he said.

He also criticized the roads. “They’re half-built, they’re not connected. They start wide and get narrow at the other end. They’re not holes, they’re boreholes. Riding my bike hurts my back and you can’t even notice them at night.” Murthi, who lives just a minute away from the polling booth, said his senior citizen wife and other family members had to vote at another center in Yousufguda.

Polling officials reported a smooth start and emphasized that the most vulnerable voters were being taken care of. “Special arrangements are in place for senior citizens and physically challenged voters. Staff are ready with wheelchairs and walking aids to assist voters,” said an election official in Borabanda.