Booths with special facilities to attract voters towards the electoral processes possibly missed the purpose they were supposed to serve on the Election Day in Ranchi on Tuesday. Among the services like tea, red carpets, red roses and spraying scent for welcome voters, colorful balloons, wheelchairs for old and disabled, chairs and waiting rooms for voters, few were provided at a number of polling booths.
Overall 190 model booths were set up with the motive to attract more voters in the five Assembly segments of Ranchi. Yet most of them remained unnoticed due to poor management and services. Facilities available in the beginning of the day drastically faded till noon and were absent in the evening when the voting ended at 5 pm.
Tea stalls were placed at corners and the voters remained doubtful whether it was for them. No red carpets were seen at many places. Red roses were given to first few voters. Scent spraying was not visible. Asked the reason, a polling officer at the SS Memorial College, Kanke where there were four Model Booths said, "We have a limited stock of roses. So, we are gifting the flowers only to the aged voters."
Similarly, a lady official at Red Cross Society said, "We are not spraying scent on voters because we are not sure if they will like the smell."
This official also said that tents (also a part of Model Booth) were not put up because its winter season voters would enjoy standing in the sun instead of waiting under the shed.
Meanwhile, a number of voters were not familiar with the 'Model Booth' concept. "I did not know what all special amenities the model booth was equipped with. I got in, cast my vote, and came out," a voter at Shree Krishna Institute of Public Administration (SKIPA) said. The Institute had two Model Booths.
"I expected that a model booth would let voters exercise their franchise in lesser time. People should not get tired of waiting in a long queue. The voters must be clearly made familiar with the utilities that are available for them," Poonam Shahdeo, a housewife and a first time voter said at a government school in Gandhinagar, where four Model Booths were set up. There were no dustbins at this centre.
However, wheelchairs and web casting facilities (video cameras installed in polling booths to see functioning of the venue directly) were used in most of the model booths. Posters describing the function of VVPAT (Voter Verified paper Audit Trail) were pasted at some of these booths. Banners with pictures of Election Commission's brand ambassadors to motivate the voters were hanged.
Notably, cops on duty in one of the booths were also not satisfied with the services. "We were instructed to guard here till the time the Governor had to cast his vote. But, later our duty was extended till 5pm," said a police personnel.