Bhubaneswar, March 12: Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Nikunja Bihari Dhal on Tuesday chaired a significant meeting with the district Collectors and SPs and reviewed poll preparedness across the state.
In the meeting, convened virtually, the CEO assured model polling stations to be set up for voters in each constituency in the simultaneous Lok Sabha and Legislative Assembly elections to be held in the state.
The Chief Electoral Officer and Additional Chief Secretary NikunjA Bihari Dhal directed the District Election Officers to open Model Polling Stations in every Assembly Constituency.
Dhal said, the Election Commission has decided to open model polling stations in 20 percent of the total polling stations in each assembly. Model polling station is designed to be opened in a clean environment with completely polythene-free materials in a friendly environment.
Out of them, five polling stations will be exclusively managed by youths and one polling station will be manned entirely by Dibyang workers and about 10 percent polling booths will be managed exclusively by women.
The Chief Electoral Officer also said that in the model polling stations, from the security personnel to the presiding officer, youth, dibyang and women employees will be engaged to conduct the election work.
Political parties have also been informed by the Election Commission to appoint youth, dibyang and women polling agents respectively for the model polling centers.
A grant of Rs 25,000 will be provided by the office of the Chief Electoral Officer to provide minimum basic facilities to each model polling station. The amount will be spent on making ideal polling centers attractive in a bid to lure maximum voters to exercise their franchise. Every model polling station should be clean and tidy.
In order to welcome the voters, the polling stations will have a beautiful welcome gate, welcome mascot, red carpet and flowers, selfie zone, a playground for small children, chair for voters etc.
Booth staff should behave humbly and politely with the voters. There should be braille facilities in EVMs for visually impaired voters in the stations.
The CEO also informed that facilities like uninterrupted power-supply, generator (standby), ceiling fans/coolers, separate toilets for women and men, provision of drinking water, waiting area for voters, provision of ramps for the disabled, wheelchairs, volunteers, display board, ORS packet, medical kit, fast aid etc will be available at the model polling station.
