The Election Commission’s move to welcome voters with modern facilities at some polling booths in Sambalpur district not only encouraged tepid old voters but also the newly enrolled ones to exercise their franchise.
To increase voting percentage, the district administration here has taken up a lot of activities to allure voters to the booths. “All the polling booths in Sambalpur Assembly constituency and selective booths in Kuchinda, Rengali and Redhakhol constituencies have been declared as ‘Model Polling Stations’ in the district,” informed district Collector-cum-District Election Officer (DEO) Balwant Singh.
“The model polling booths bear a different look with all facilities available for the voters, including clean drinking water, rest-shed, clean toilets, in the booth premises. At the same time, ‘Red Carpets’ are spread from the main gate to the polling place so that the voters feel themselves as proud citizens of the country,” Singh said.
“Each new voter is also presented with a ‘Red Rose’ to make him feel honoured for voting for the fist time in life for the biggest democracy of the world,” Singh added.
For example, Headmistresses of Budharaja UP and ME Schools Nalini Sahu and Arati Behera respectively were welcoming the new voters with roses. “I feel proud to be honoured in such a way,” said Sriya Panigrahi, who voted for the first time.
Similarly, the school teachers, Anganwadi workers, Asha Karmis and NSS volunteers of various colleges were engaged to help old persons, pregnant women and women with small children in the model polling booths. For physically differentiated persons, special care is being taken including providing wheel chair to them in every model booths, the DEO informed.
Besides, a decorated gate was also seen erected at the entrance of each school to welcome the voters.
“Model poling stations are really a good concept. It should be extended to the rural areas in more numbers,” opined Pradeep Kumar Bahidar, a citizen of the town. The way the youths were given warm welcome inside the booths that also make them feel happy and make it a memorable day for all of them, he said.