Election Commission decides to set up 10% all-women polling booths in every assembly seat in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The Election Commission has decided to set up 10 per cent all-women polling booths in every assembly constituency in Odisha for the upcoming Lok Sabha and assembly polls in the state, an official said on Wednesday.

During a virtual meeting on Tuesday, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Odisha Nikunja Bihari Dhal directed all collectors-cum-district electoral officers (DEOs) to set up such model polling booths to be managed by women only in every assembly constituency.

At least five booths in each assembly constituency will be managed by all young electoral personnel, one booth by persons with disability (PwD) and 10 per cent will be managed by all women, Dhal said.

In the model women polling stations, all staffers, including police and security personnel, will be women. Similar arrangements will be made for all youth and all PwD booths.

The political parties have also been asked to deploy their young, PwD and women representatives in the respective model booths, he said.

To ensure the availability of basic facilities, the office of the CEO will provide Rs 25,000 to each of the model polling booths.

The amount will be spent on making these polling centres attractive in a bid to encourage maximum voters to exercise their franchise.

Every model polling station should be clean, Dhal told collectors during the meeting.

To greet voters, the polling stations will have an attractive welcome gate, mascot, red carpet and flowers, selfie zone, play area for children, seating chairs for electors etc.

The CEO also said that facilities like uninterrupted power supply, ceiling fans/coolers, separate toilets for women and men, provision of drinking water, waiting area for voters, ramps for disabled persons, wheelchairs, volunteers, display board, ORS packet, medical kit, first aid etc will also be made available at the model polling stations.

During the meeting, Dhal said that a ‘voter guide’ pocketbook will be distributed to all families to increase the polling percentage in the coming elections.