Electoral ink causes burn injuries

Mumbai: The indelible ink has caused a partial burn on the fingers of two women polling booth officers who were assigned the task of inking voters when the city went to polls on April 29. Initially the two of them thought that the swelling on their fingers would reduce in two to three days after election duty however when it did not, they consulted a dermatologist.

The dermatologist from Thane civic hospital, who did not wish to be named, said that indelible voters’ ink typically did not cause any harmful effects and such instances were shocking as patients were complaining of pain, swelling, burning sensation and black staining of the fingertips of both hands.

“Patients reported to our emergency on the third day, with erythema and swelling on their fingers and the adjacent palm indicating strong allergic reaction. There were small blisters on the right ring and middle fingers. There was extensive staining of the fingers with ink. There was no history of allergy to any drug or known allergens,” he said.

Professor Dipa Thanekar (46) from a government-aided college told The Asian Age, “We were applying ink on the voters’ fingers and I was placed at the Ghatkopar polling booth. I’ve been doing election duty since last eight years but this time, my hand movements were restricted due to pain and swelling.”

Another polling booth officer, Rajshree Birankar (45), said, “At the end of polling day, the tips of most of my fingers were stained with ink. By late evening, I started feeling a burning sensation near my fingertips. The next day, I had swelling, pain and redness on all fingers and a small blister.”