Udupi: "Choosing NOTA is not wrong; it is people's right. But using it to influence anyone or campaigning for it or provoking people to opt for NOTA falls under violation," said Deputy commissioner Hephsiba Rani Korlapati at an awareness programme organised by the District Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) committee at Udupi Press Club here on Saturday, March 23.
"The committee has been engaged in SVEEP activity for the past one month. The Election Commission has given clear instructions and notifications to ensure that polling booths are accessible to all voters. It has fixed certain targets to be achieved and is focusing on persons with disabilities. We need physical and logistic preparation for conducting SVEEP activities in the city," said the DC.
"We are organising the programmes with an aim to reach out to the last voter of the society. There is value for each vote. Media plays an important role in opinion formation. It is a constitutional right. There are 25 days left to raise awareness," added the DC.
"We are getting good response from post-metric hostels. Mock polling is being conducted in colleges and materials like pamphlets are being distributed to the students. As many as 35 campus ambassadors have been selected to raise awareness among the youth. We want to break last time's polling record,” said the DC.
Speaking on the occasion, CEO of Udupi zilla panchayat Sindhu Roopesh said, "ECI has instructed to provide transport facilities for people with disabilities and senior citizens. We have given the responsibility of arranging transport to panchayat officials."
"There are 1,111 polling stations in 701 places. The committee has completed 40-50% of awareness activities. More than 60,000 people got these benefits," she added.
"There is no special programme to attract NRIs to vote. But we hope that they come to exercise their right," informed the DC.
Addressing the water shortage issue in the city the DC said, "We have decided to supply water three days in a week to city area due to shortage. We have instructed all the panchayats to take immediate action to tackle the water problem."
