In a first, all Tarn Taran poll booths are model stations

Manmeet/Gurbaxpuri

Tarn Taran, May 18

This time, all 878 polling booths in Tarn Taran district have been converted into model polling stations to make voters comfortable and encourage them to turn up in large numbers for exercising their right to franchise.

Apart from ensuring cleanliness, comfortable furniture, red carpets, wheelchairs, towels and soaps in washrooms, the polling staff will also greet kids accompanying their parents with candies.

“ All 878 polling stations in the district had been given the status of model polling stations where special arrangements had been provided. This is for the first time that all booths in a district have been converted into model polling stations,” said Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer Pardeep Sabarwal.

All four Assembly segments in Tarn Taran, namely Tarn Taran, Patti, Khadoor Sahib and Khemkaran are part of the Khadoor Sahib Lok Sahba seat from where Jasbir Singh Dimpa of the Congress, Paramjit Kaur Khalra of the Punjab Democratic Alliance and Jagir Kaur of the SAD have locked horns.

Sabarwal said, “We decided to convert all booths into model polling booths so that people do not get uncomfortable while casting their votes.”

The Khadoor Sahib constituency has a total of 1,902 booths, out of which 578 fall in four Assembly segments of Tarn Taran district.

The other Assembly segments in the Khadoor Sahib constituency are Jandiala and Baba Bakala (Amritsar district), Kapurthala and Sultanpur Lodhi (Kapurthala district), and Zira in Ferozepur district.

Sabarwal said booths will be decorated with rangoli and balloons. He added that colourful ropes will be used for barricading. The booths will also have a special area for children to play, waiting rooms for voters and also feeding rooms.

The polling staff will present certificates and mementoes to the first voter at booths, certificates to first-time voters, physically challenged and voters from the third gender. “The booths look like a party venue and voters are in for a surprise when they turn up tomorrow. The entire machinery worked very hard and I want to congratulate the entire staff for accomplishing this mammoth task,” said the district electoral officer.

There are a total number of 16,25,192 voters, including 7,70,609 women and 73 from the third gender.

Meanwhile, there have been reports regarding distribution of liquor among voters for the past three days.