The largest democracy in the world is undergoing a major shift in political ideologies owing to the current elections taking place in the country. With almost 900 million eligible voters in India, there’s sure to be some time consuming procedure to get behind the actual polling booth, even before you cast your vote. Ordinarily, a voter has to stand for hours in a queue just to cast their vote but in Indore, you can book a time slot for one of the 40 queue-less polling booths and beat the heat as well as the crowd.
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What’s the update?
Voting is a fundamental right and is perhaps the only way that the average Indian has a semblance of power on their shoulders. With this in mind, voters rush to their dedicated polling booths and form long, seemingly never-ending queues.
Now, the EC has determined 40 polling booths in Indore where turnouts were low over the past couple of elections and aim to transform them into queueless polling booths. At these queueless polling stations, one can book specific time slots, cast a vote and get over with the process in a jiffy.
How do I book a time slot?
The process involved in booking your slot is rather easy- so as to make it appealing for as many as possible. A voter would need to log on to a website called Saugamaya Portal.
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In the website, voters need to fill up the required details such as voter ID number, elector photo identity card and the booth they want to vote at. Subsequently, when the information is verified, the website will generate a pass and a ticket for the chosen time slot. As for the time slots, there are dedicated timings listed on the website and voters can choose one of them and each voter will get a maximum of 10 minutes.
Who can use it?
As of now, the queueless polling booths are only available for people with disabilities, pregnant women and senior citizens. Upon gauging the response of the voters, the goal is to make it queueless for everyone. This will benefit a large number of Indoris as they will no longer have to skip office or college. With the help of the new system, it will become rather easy and convenient to express your right.
Though the transitional phase will face a few problems, at its core, the EC aims to provide a better and hassle free voting experience for everyone.
