Over 37,000 vulnerable people find place in ‘inclusive’ electoral rolls

Following guidelines from the Election Commission to focus on an “inclusive” electoral roll ahead of general elections 2024, the district administration has included over 36,000 vulnerable individuals from four categories in the voters’ list, officials said on Tuesday.
They include 600 individuals registered under National Aids Control Ogranisation (NACO), who are at risk of HIV-AIDS, 102 transgenders, over 26,353 senior citizens (aged 80 years and above) and over 10,502 physically challenged citizens, officials said.
According guidelines issued by NACO, high-risk groups are defined as individuals whose lifestyle or profession puts them at a high risk of contracting the disease. These include female sex workers (FSWs), men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgenders (TGs) and injecting drug users (IDU).
“For an inclusive electoral roll, the focus of the district administration, in alignment with the Election Commission of India (ECI) guidelines, has been to identify various marginalised communities such as transgenders, homeless people/nomadic groups, sex workers, women in difficult circumstances, and so on, and ensure their electoral participation,” said Manish Verma, district magistrate, Gautam Buddh Nagar, on Tuesday.
Additional district magistrate Atul Kumar said, “The data of 600 residents of the district, who are enrolled with NACO, has been added to the rolls. This is extremely sensitive data, and the identity of individuals under this list is always kept anonymous.”
Special focus has been laid on sensitisation of polling personnel regarding the needs of the differently abled electors, added the DM.
“All polling stations are located on the ground floor, and ramps with proper gradients are provided for the convenience of differently abled voters and senior citizens in wheelchairs,” said Verma.