RANCHI: In a first-of-its-kind initiative in the country, all 29521 polling booths in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls in Jharkhand will be developed as model booths, having a lounge with seats, television and medical facilities for those waiting to cast their votes.“To mark the festival of democracy during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, all 29521 polling stations across the state will be developed as model booths having all basic facilities in it,” said Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar. All the booths will also be equipped with queue-less facilities for polling, he added.According to Kumar, the model booths will not have queues where voters stand to cast their franchise. Instead, voters will be seated in a lounge, with volunteers issuing them a token to go and cast their franchise, he said.“The lounge will have seating arrangements, fan, and drinking water facilities along with a television, in which video clips of SVEEP Committee activities will be played. It will also have medical facilities and play material for children,” said the CEO.In addition, some booths in each district will also be developed as theme based booths based on the local art and culture of that specific area, which will be decided by the district administration.“Some of the specific polling booths will be completely manned by youth, women or physically challenged people in order to ensure everyone’s participation in this festival of democracy,” said Chief Electoral Officer K Ravi Kumar. Besides that, some of the polling booths will be based on themes on the local unique feature of the region depicting the local art and culture, he added.Kumar further informed that some polling stations had earlier been developed as model booths at the district level and made attractive by providing all the basic facilities in it. But this time, preparations are being made to develop all the polling centres as model polling booths, he said.
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