Here’s what minimum assured facilities will be provided for voters at polling station on voting days
In a communication sent to the Chief Election Officers, the Election Commission of India has directed that Minimum Assured Facilities shall be provided at all polling stations. The communication has an elaborate list of facilities that needs to be mandatorily provided to the voters at the polling booths on the day of voting by Chief Election officers of state and union territories.
The basic minimum facilities that electors will be facilitated with are as follows:
- Provision for Drinking Water: There should be a proper arrangement for drinking water facilities at the polling station and one employee shall be deployed at the polling station(s) to refill the water pots and to serve water to the voters standing in the queue.
- Adequate Furniture- There should be proper provision for basic amenities like tables, chairs and benches for voters standing in the queue at the polling stations.
- Provision for ramp- A ramp of slope 1:10 or less should be provided at the polling station to facilitate the PwD (Persons with Disabilities) voters, as per the directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court of lndia. ln the polling stations where permanent ramps have not been provided, temporary ramp should be provided.
- Medical Kit - A Medical Kit containing Paracetamol medicine & items like gauze pads wound cleaning agent/scissors along with a medical attendant should be made available at each polling station for emergency use of voters.
- Help Desk- ln the polling station locations having multiple polling stations, a help desk should be set up with the objective of providing assistance to the voter, facilitating the voters to locate their particular polling station and issuance of voter slips. The Help Desk should be manned by Booth Level Officer (BLO).
- Toilets- There should be separate toilet for men and women voters. If two toilets are not available, pucca one should be earmarked for female voters and one temporary toilet be provided for male voters. One employee shall be deployed to keep the toilet clean throughout the day.
- Provision for Creche for children- There should be proper arrangement for creche at each polling station for children accompanying the electors. One trained attendant should be deployed to take care of these children.
- Queue Management: There should be three queues at the polling station: one for male voters, one for ladies voters and another for senior citizens and PwD electors. As per present practice, one male elector should be allowed to vote per two female electors. Preference should be given to senior citizens and PwD electors.
With India conducting the world history’s biggest election with over 900 million eligible voters and 1.035 million polling stations across the country, it will not be a piece of cake for the Election Commission of India to provide these facilities at every polling station. However, it will be important to see how many of these Assured Minimum Facilities are provided by the authorities.
Do let us know in the comment box how many of these Assured Minimum Facilities were provided at your local polling booth and what you thought or believe was missing at your booth.
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Stalin claims DMK secured 1.54 crore votes
Chennai (PTI): DMK president M K Stalin on Tuesday, in a veiled reference to the TVK, claimed that the party that won additional constituencies has gained only 17.43 lakh more votes than the DMK.
He was referring to the April 23 Assembly polls where the DMK and its allies secured 74 seats, with the Dravidian party netting 59 constituencies.
In a statement, Stalin said, "the percentage difference in votes between us and them is just 3.52 per cent," in an apparent reference to the Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kahzagam emerged victorious in the polls, the results of which were announced on Monday.
Claiming that the DMK alliance has secured 1.54 crore votes, Stalin said, "I consider each and every one of your votes as an invaluable token of trust".
Stating that DMK has been in power several times, he said "there is no victory we have not seen and there is no defeat we have not faced".
"Whether in victory or defeat, those who regard them equally and continue their journey toward their ideals are the comrades of the party", he said adding "you are the lifeblood and roots of the movement".
"The harvest of 1.54 crore votes is the fruit of your commitment", he said.
"What return can I offer for your hard work? With the feeling of being the chief worker, we will continue our journey," the DMK chief added.
Stalin said "if we are the ruling party, we will formulate schemes for the people. If we are the opposition party, we will fight for the people's demands. In that regard, now as a strong opposition party, we will continue to work for the people".
Asserting that the DMK will continue the journey of taking forward the policies of the century-old great Dravidian movement, protecting race, language, and nation, the DMK leader said "in our journey, I will not leave anyone behind. We will win again".
