Student poll volunteers say we’re happy to serve

Avneet Kaur

Jalandhar, May 19

Most people try to get in and out of polling booths as quickly as possible, but that certainly hasn’t been the case for these young and energetic schoolchildren as well as NSS cadets who as volunteers helped manage the queues of voters and assisted persons with disability.

From giving flowers to first-time voters and candies to children accompanying their parents to rushing wheelchairs for the disabled voters, the student volunteers were on their toes to make voting a happy experience for one and all.

Excluding a few booths in the city, almost all the polling booths in the district had two volunteers each who were assigned shifts of four to six hours by the school teachers as per orders from the District Education Officer (DEO). It was a Sunday well spent at the polling booths as the students enjoyed having hands-on experience of the election process.

A class XII student of Government Model Senior Secondary School, Ladowali Road, Balwinder Singh, said, “We can’t vote right now, but are happy to be a part of the electoral process. I have been helping the disabled and centenarians,” he said.

A super excited Kavita and Roshni, students of Government School Garha, said, “We were too excited about this. We got to see Harbhajan Singh who had come to vote here. We cannot go inside where votes are being cast but we can be around the polling booth. If somebody needs any help, we are here,” they said.

“If anybody wants to check their names in the voters’ list before getting inside, I can help them out. Fulfilling requests for a wheelchair and facilitating the early entry of pregnant women are part of my duties,” said Ambika and Kajal of Government Girls Senior Secondary Smart School, Nakodar.

Similar views were expressed by Nikita, Shabhnam, Harshpreet, Harleen, Charanpreet and Amita, students of the same school, who said if they ever get a chance to take part as volunteers in the elections next time, they would happily volunteer for serving the people is serving the nation. “We have also got certificates for our work,” they added.

Meanwhile, a government school teacher, Harpreet Kaur, said, “Deploying volunteers was a good decision of the administration as the students know about democracy and learn to help others”.

Serving as volunteers during the poll and assisting the senior citizens to cast their vote is the same as taking part in a noble cause. The students also said that they felt really happy as the elderly blessed them a bright future.