Hyderabad: In a bid to increase voter turnout in the forthcoming Lok Sabha Elections, the Central Bureau of Communication under the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting has put up an Exhibition on Voters’ Awareness. Organised as part of the Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) programme, the Photo Exhibition has an array of 32 information panels developed and curated by CBC, which take visitors through India’s election journey that began in 1951 and also highlights all aspects of polling from ECI’s mobile apps to EVMs.
Inaugurating the exhibition, Telangana’s Chief Electoral Officer Vikas Raj urged the voters to participate in the festival of democracy and make polling free and fair. “We need to make polling free and fair, and the responsibility is on the voters to make it inducement-free,” he said.
Vikas Raj said that the first important thing for voters to do is to find out their respective polling booth. There are many ways, such as the ECI portal and mobile apps, to know polling booths. To exercise your franchise, you can visit your polling booth with the EPIC or any of the 12 identification cards recognised by ECI, he said. He urged voters not to make summer heat an excuse to skip voting as ECI is making necessary arrangements in the wake of heatwave conditions in the State. He said ECI has been conducting awareness campaigns for the past seven to eight months and appreciated the CBC for setting up the photo exhibition at MGBS, which would stregthen the SVEEP efforts.
Addressing the gathering, TSRTC Vice Chairman and Managing Director V.C. Sajjanar called upon first-time voters and youngsters to actively participate in the festival of democracy by making use of the holiday given on polling day. He asked voters not to be influenced by freebies. Sajjanar volunteered to conduct more voter awareness campaigns at TSRTC premises across the state.
Earlier, Shruti Patil, Addl. DG, PIB & CBC, Hyderabad spoke about the various initiatives of the Ministry of I&B in collaboration with the Office of CEO, Telangana, like the street plays staged across the state. She said that CBC would put up similar exhibitions in major towns of the state to beat Urban voter apathy.
Joint CEO Sarfaraz Ahmed and other senior officials were also present at the event.
The play ‘Votey Mana Ayudham’ (Vote Is Our Weapon) presented by the artistes of Song and Drama Division, CBC, during the inaugural programme exhorted first-time and young voters to exercise their franchise.The three-day Exhibition on Voters’ Awareness has been placed at the Central Reservation Counter of Mahatma Gandhi Bus Station, considering the huge footfall the place has daily, thus enhancing the outreach efforts. The exhibition also features awareness videos made by CBC. The exhibition will conclude on April 22. (INN)