E-Paper
Election officials seek civil society’s help in increasing voting percentage in Ranchi
On the facilities being provided at the polling booths, additional electoral officer Manish Ranjan said that voter slips would be provided to all concerned at their residence well before the voting day
Urging all members of the public to help spread awareness about the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, election officials said on Tuesday that civil society could play a vital role in increasing the voting percentage, even as the state election body made all required arrangements at polling booths for Divyang (physically disabled), senior citizens, and women voters.
Addressing an interaction with civil society members and Divyang voters, Jharkhand chief electoral officer L Khiyangate said that civil society members worked for people’s welfare and they were well connected with the general populace, especially in the rural areas, which could come in handy for increasing the overall voting percentage.
“The civil society members could help with solving the problems of voters if they have any issue related to voting or polling booths. They could also play a critical role in preventing voters from being lured by any political front and help conduct free and fair polls,” said Khiyangate.
He urged the civil society members to raise awareness on the facilities for Divyang, senior citizens and women voters, so that these groups of voters would be encouraged to come out and exercise their franchise. The official also urged the gathering to spread awareness among first-time voters.
On the facilities being provided at the polling booths, additional electoral officer Manish Ranjan said that voter slips would be provided to all concerned at their residence well before the voting day. “Additionally, the polling booths would have proper availability of water, power, toilets, ramps and wheelchairs for Divyang and senior citizen voters,” added Ranjan.
Some Divyang voters are also being given training on the poll facilities. “The Divyang voters were trained on the usage of EVM-VVPAT (electronic voting machine and voter verifiable paper audit trail) functioning. The EVMs and voters’ slips would also have script in Braille in order to help voters without eyesight. These trained voters would go around their own areas and train others,” said an official.
