Guwahati: Assam chief electoral officer (CEO) Anurag Goel on Wednesday reviewed poll preparedness in the Kamrup election district, which falls under Guwahati and Barpeta Lok Sabha constituencies.
In a meeting convened at the integrated DC Office, Kamrup, ahead of the third and concluding phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Assam, Goel discussed and reviewed key election management aspects with Kamrup district commissioner and district election officer Keerthi Jalli and superintendent of police Ranjan Bhuyan.
Chief executive officer of Zilla Parishad Orpah Baglary; district development commissioner Susanta Kumar Dutta; additional district commissioner (election) Kamal Baruah and other officers responsible for different election cells were present at the review meeting.
During the meeting, the chief electoral officer emphasised vigilance, proactive handling of complaints, and precautionary measures, in case, there is a delay in the closing of polls in any polling station.
Issues such as strong room management, webcasting, GPS systems, and EVM management were also discussed to ensure smooth operations for the upcoming poll on May 7, 2024.
Later, Goel inspected the strong room and EVM commissioning arrangements, as well as distribution counters for the poll day.
After the review meeting, Goel unveiled voter awareness videos and launched a website called “Polling Station at your fingertips”, aimed at improving voter convenience and participation as part of the Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) initiative of the Kamrup election district.
The website provides step-by-step guidance for voters to find their polling station with details of distance, approximate time to reach, weather conditions, and advance view of the polling station through uploaded videos.
The CEO applauded the pioneering initiative taken by the Kamrup election district to provide a trial voting experience using virtual reality technology.
Notably, the Kamrup election district had on Tuesday conducted trial voting using virtual reality technology in a bid to ensure maximum voter participation in the third-phase Lok Sabha election on May 7.
The concept of trial voting through virtual reality technology was developed by the Kamrup district administration with Keyur Sorathia, associate professor of the department of design, IIT Guwahati.
The pioneering initiative, taken up for the first time in India, aims to provide a virtual walk through the actual polling process.
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Under the guidance of Kamrup district commissioner and district election officer Keerthi Jalli, the initiative was inaugurated at Dakhin Kamrup College as part of the Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) initiative.
As it is, the Kamrup election district has been taking up a slew of innovative initiatives in this regard.
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