Sanjay Pandety
Ranchi EW News: Special facilities have been provided at polling centers for senior citizens and disabled voters during the Lok Sabha general elections. Home voting facilities are being arranged for voters unable to come to the polling center. Moreover, arrangements for auto/toto vehicles are being made for senior and disabled voters facing difficulty in reaching the polling centers.
In addition, various arrangements have been made to facilitate activities for voters, such as provision of wheelchairs at polling centers, shading to avoid exposure to sunlight, and ensuring other basic amenities for voters’ convenience. Chief Election Officer K. Ravi Kumar directed to inform voters about all these facilities to ensure awareness among them. He was inspecting various polling centers in Koderma district on Thursday.
He visited polling centers in Koderma that had lower voter turnout in the previous elections and gathered information about the minimum facilities available from Booth Level Officers (BLOs) working on election duties. He also reviewed the preparations made by them and inspected various documents filled out, including the Absentee, Shift, Dead (ASD) list, polling center awareness groups, and volunteer-related lists.
Furthermore, he instructed to ensure the timely distribution of Voter Information Slips and to expedite the process. He also interacted with volunteers and polling center awareness group members to discuss their responsibilities on election day. He emphasized the importance of their honest and diligent performance and directed them to assist senior citizens, disabled individuals, pregnant women, and other voters, thereby ensuring smooth conduct of the voting process.
During his inspection, the Chief Election Officer also reviewed the arrangements for seating and lighting at the polling booths, as well as the provision of clean drinking water and clean toilets for voters and polling party members. He directed to ensure the availability of running water connections in the toilets promptly.
Present during the Chief Election Officer’s inspection were District Election Officer-cum-Deputy Commissioner Megha Bharadwaj, Assistant Election Officer Prince Godwin Kujur, Sub-Divisional Officer Priya Singh, District Contact Officer of MCC Nodal Officer-cum-District Information Officer Ravi Kumar, and other officials.
