Some voters from New Barracks Street in Gandhinagar area under newly restructured Ward-20 of the Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) have made an application to the Brahmapur Sub-Collector-cum-Election officer here on Thursday demanding that the election of Ward-20 be kept in abeyance till their names are included in the updated list of voters.
They have stated that they are the permanent residents of the ward and have been exercising their franchise since last several decades. The signatories of the petition include scribe Prasant K Das, former teacher Sudheera Patra, social worker Kishore Chandra Panda and others. Meanwhile, a voter of New Barracks street came to know that persons whose names are not found in the voters list will be deprived of voting in the coming BeMC election.
Similarly, another voter of Gandhinagar 3rd Lane Extension has alleged that four months back she had approached the Sub-Collector’s office with the required documents for change of her address (consequent upon her marriage) and polling booth from Ramakrushna Nagar to Gandhinagar 3rd Lane Extension and addition of her spouse's name in the voters list in place of her father’s name (with reference ID No.ONN895818535) which was duly accepted and acknowledged online. She was told by the officials set on Correction Desk then in the front of the Sub-Collector’s office that, within a fortnight the revised voter ID card reflecting both the changes will be delivered at home and she will be intimated to collect the same when the new ID card is ready.
However, though four months have already elapsed, she is yet to get the revised voter ID card, she lamented.
Now on verification of the updated voters list-2022 of Ward-20 she found that, only booth number has been changed but her spouse name has not been reflected in the voters list for reasons best known to the election authorities.
Significantly, the petitioners who have signed the application addressed to the Sub-Collector are the residents of VVIP zone where Assembly Speaker SN Patro and former Deputy Speaker of OLA RK Panda are residing. Yet, there are few takers for the grievances of the petitioners.