In Chennai’s Perumbakkam resettlement site, residents working as domestic workers leave home at 9 am and return only after 6 pm. For them, the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) seems almost impossible to navigate. A community worker from the area observes that in earlier voter roll verifications, households received a simple part-number booklet. Now, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) set up camps instead of going door-to-door, asking residents to collect the forms themselves. The new form asks for additional details such as parents’ voter IDs, which many residents do not know, she adds. With low literacy levels,…

On a normal day, fatigue is a persistent challenge for Smitha Sadasivan, Senior Adviser at the Disability Rights India Foundation and a person living with Multiple Sclerosis. Yet, it is manageable with rest periods, nutritional supplements, hydration, and some mild activity. But heatwaves worsen her symptoms. "During heatwaves, none of these measures help. Only limited nutrition and hydration offer some relief,” says Smitha. Extreme climate events, such as heatwaves, floods, or cyclones, pose problems for everyone. Yet for people with disabilities, the challenges are far greater, as daily barriers to safety and mobility become worse during such crises. Smitha explains…