LS polls: Pink booths, creche facilities elevate voting experience in Delhi

The specially designed pink and model booths were a hit among the voters, who not only cast their votes with ease but also enjoyed clicking selfies on the polling day.

The seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi went to polling in the sixth phase on Saturday.

A vibrant effort to enhance the voting experience, the polling stations featured model encouragement facilities, including pink sofas, spacious waiting areas with water fans, pitcher water, colourful rangoli, beautiful hanging decorations, selfie booths, carpets and wheelchairs to help the disabled.

Speaking about the pink booth arrangement, Priyanka Vajpayee, a voter, said, "I was surprised when I entered the booth because it was not like the last time. It was all decorated with flowers and balloons."

The pink booth was managed by female staff and it was decorated with lots of cutouts, motivational quotes and beautification work to enthuse people.

Talking about the decoration, another voter Geeta said, "The booth is so colourful that it feels like we are here to attend a cultural programme, giving us a moment of joy as we participate in the election. These new booths are adding extra excitement to the election."

At some polling stations in Matia Mahal, soft toys and souvenirs were also given to the voters as tokens of appreciation.

Additionally, mugs with the message "Am I a proud voter" were given to the voters who exercised their voting rights.

On the other hand, model booth selfie corners were overloaded with people getting clicked on the selfie points right after performing their voting duty.

Speaking about the selfie stand at the CPWD Service Centre in North Avenue, where the center was decorated with colourful fabrics and flowers, another voter Anuradha said, "Voting is our responsibility and we step out to fulfil that. But seeing this arrangement has filled us with excitement."

"Well managed. It was a swift voting experience for me. I have been casting my vote for 15 years. It is well coordinated this time," she told PTI.

On the other hand, there are seven PWD polling stations which was managed by the PWD staff.

A long carpet stretched from outside the center to the polling room in the model polling station, adorned with long-hanging decorative pieces.

Talking about the experience at these special booths, Ashok Kumar, a handicapped voter, said these special arrangements have made the voting exercise easy and convenient.

"But voting is our power, so we should not think about being in comfort. The booths are near our house and there are arrangements to give you some comfort. So when we have such an important power to choose who will rule over us, we should come forward to vote and elect our candidates," Kumar said.
 

"And now there are so many facilities here to give you convenience. If we can step out with the support of my family and wheelchair, why can't others?" he asked.

Rakesh and Sanyam, who were blind, came to cast their votes in Kalkaji. "It took us less than five minutes to cast our votes," Rakesh told PTI.

Shaded areas have been set up at each polling station due to the heat and the waiting areas have been fully covered. Coolers and fans have been installed to mitigate any discomfort.

A family, present to cast their votes, said, "It's Saturday and our entire family is here to give our votes. The best part is we were worried about our dadi maa (grandmother) who suffered from paralysis a few years ago, and still her lower body does not function properly. We were concerned about the long queues due to the high temperature affecting her health. However, the management and functioning were smooth enough to make things easier for us."

Additionally, at a polling centre in Narela, which falls under the Northwest constituency, the commission had set up a creche for the children below five years, coming with their parents.

An Angwanwadi worker, Geeta, posted at the centre told PTI that 39 children have come so far. "We note down the names of the parents and their contact numbers. The children plays here 'khel pitara', sing poems and narrate stories."

This was something new for the voters and they were quite happy to see the vibrant energy and vibe outside the polling booth.

There are total 13,641 polling stations across Delhi.

A voter turnout of 53.73 per cent was recorded till 5 pm in Delhi, where polling is underway for its seven Lok Sabha constituencies.

Coconut water packs, sugarcane juice come to rescue of voters in Delhi in scorching heat 
 

The electors of Delhi cast their votes while enduring the summer heat on Saturday with some voters even fainting due to the blazing sun and hot winds sweeping the national capital even as poll authorities made arrangements to beat the heat.

The capital was under an "orange alert" on the polling day with the maximum temperature being recorded at 43.4 degrees Celsius, 3.2 notches above the season's average, according to the IMD.

Due to the scorching temperature, arrangements like water fans, earthern pitchers filled with water, spacious waiting halls and shaded areas with coolers were set up at the polling booths by the election office of the Delhi Chief Electoral Officer.

A 70-year-old woman fainted at a polling booth in West Delhi constituency after casting her vote. She was assisted by the volunteers and taken to the hospital.

At some polling booths, coconut water was distributed to the voters.

Talking about the process and time of the voting, a 40-year-old voter Lalit Mahalwal, who is currently in phase of recovering from paralysis, told PTI that fans were placed and an individual was taking five to 10 minutes for casting their votes.

"Water fans were also installed to give relief, so there was no such problem to worry about. Coolers and fans were installed to mitigate any discomfort. Special arrangements like paramedical staff equipped with basic medical kits were stationed at all polling locations," he said.

Shaded areas were set up at each polling station and the waiting areas were fully covered.

One glass of sugarcane juice worked at providing respite to the voters at many places in Delhi.

Outside a polling booth in Alipur, which falls in Northwest Delhi constituency, Rajat Maan, who came with his wife Swati, said, "Is garmi ko kaatne ka, bas yehi hai desi illaj (This is the only natural way to beat this scorching heat)."

Similar scenes were witnessed at other places in Delhi as the voters were seen having sips of the sugarcane juices outside the voting centres.

Narendra Shukla, a voter at a polling centre in Matiala, said that there was no water inside the polling booth. "At least this sugarcane juice at just Rs 20 per glass has brought respite to us in this heat, where mercury is reaching 47-48 degrees Celsius," he said.

Gautam Chauhan, a juice seller, said that he would expect to earn little more on Saturday as compared to other days.

RK Saxena, a 92-year-old businessman, however, said that people should come out to vote despite the scorching heat of the sun.

"Heat will be there but it is our duty to vote," he said, as he was being escorted by polling staff on a wheelchair at a polling booth in Kalkaji.

The minimum temperature in Delhi settled four notches above normal at 30.6 degrees Celsius on Saturday as Delhiites stepped out to vote in the sixth phase of the Lok Sabha elections.