E-Paper
Pune voters not up to the mark...yet
In Pune, not a single polling station has more than 80 per cent voting in the Lok Sabha elections: Collector
In the urban areas, the voting percentage is less as compared to rural areas in Pune district according to Naval Kishore Ram, Pune district collector and so the district administration will conduct awareness campaigns ahead of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. “According to voting percentage analysis, it was found that as compared to the rural area, voting percentage in the urban area is less. There are centres in rural areas of Pune district where voting is more than 80 per cent, but in Pune, not a single polling station has more than 80 per cent voting in past Lok Sabha elections. So, the district administration will conduct campaigns in urban areas to increase awareness,” said Naval Kishore Ram, Pune district collector, on Thursday.
Ram briefed the media about preparedness for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls and said, “The administration is fully prepared for the Lok Sabha elections.”
Also, he has appealed to voters to check their names in the voting list and fill up necessary forms if their names do not appear in the list.
“The necessary arrangements have been made by the administration for the same and training programmes for officers on duty would start soon,” said Ram.
“All voting centres in the district would have voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) facility. Now, voters can check their vote, as it will remain for seven seconds on the screen,” he added.
Meanwhile, the number of voters in Pune district has gone up to 73.63 lakh for 2019, Lok Sabha polls. In 2014, 63.48 lakh voters were registered during the Lok Sabha polls. With the polls scheduled for April-May, the district administration is taking necessary steps to create awareness and increase voter turnout. It has appealed to people to check their names and register themselves in case their names are missing from the voters’ list.
In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, at least one lakh voters could not vote as their names were not found in the list, prompting sharp reactions.
12 satellite phones for communication
As some parts of Pune district does not have mobile connectivity the district administration has decided to purchase 12 satellite phones for establishing communication on the election day.
Facility for the disabled persons
The district administration has decided to provide better facilities to disabled persons during voting and is planning to keep booths on the ground floor only. Also, it will erect ramps at polling stations and will hire 550 wheelchairs for senior citizens and disabled persons which would be kept at polling stations.
Postal vote facility for staff on election duty
District collector Ram said, “This time the district administration has decided to provide postal vote facility for the staff on election duty.” “At least 55,000 staff is involved in election duty and even many voters from Pune district are working in defence sector, so the administration is ensuring that these people will be able to cast their vote by using the postal vote facility,” he added.