By Our Staff Reporter
DEHRADUN, 13 April: Nearly 94.73 percent of people above 85 years of age and persons with disabilities have so far cast their franchise through ballot papers in Uttarakhand, Chief Electoral Officer Dr BVRC Purushottam said on Saturday.
Talking to the media at the Secretariat, Dr Purushottam said this percentage will increase further. Till now, the voting percentage through postal ballot has been more than that of the assembly election in 2022.
So far, 9376 voters above 85 years of age and 2806 disabled voters have cast their franchise through postal ballot. Nearly 505 voters associated with essential services have applied for voting through postal ballot, they will vote on 14 and 15 April 2024.
The Chief Electoral Officer said that Uttarakhand is at third place in the country in the proceedings through C Vigil. Altogether 19532 complaints have been received in the state through C Vigil, which have been resolved promptly. About 2000 complaints have been received through the National Grievance Address Portal, out of which action is underway on five complaints. All the remaining complaints have been resolved. Nearly 2666 permissions were sought by political parties, all permissions were given within 6 to 7 hours. The Election Commission of India takes 48 to 72 hours time for this.
Dr Purushottam said that many efforts have been made in the state to facilitate the personnel engaged in election duty. For the first time in the state, personnel engaged on booth level duty have been provided Rs 1,000 each for making phone calls to contact voters. The personnel engaged in the webcasting team are being given an honorarium of Rs 300 per day. Instructions have been given to all the District Election Officers to make arrangements for accommodation and bedding for the polling parties. For this, funds have also been given to all the districts. The District Magistrate will ensure these arrangements at the local level.
The Chief Electoral Officer said that special efforts have been made to increase the voting percentage in the state. Nearly 60 lakh voters in the state have taken oath for casting their franchise. Bags have been given to all polling parties so that polling parties do not face any problem in carrying their voting items. For the first time in the state, a booth health management plan has been made at polling booths. In case of any emergency, the presiding officer can directly contact the concerned health center and doctor.
