Patna: With COVID-19 cases rising by the day, the Election Commission (EC) is considering providing bamboo sticks the size of toothpicks to voters at polling booths to press the buttons on the Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) so as to protect them from contracting coronavirus.
The poll panel is working on such ideas, keeping in view the upcoming assembly elections in Bihar which are barely three months away. Bihar polls scheduled to be held in October/November will be the first stand-alone state elections in India where polling will be held amid the COVID-19 pandemic and hence this remains a big challenge for the poll panel to ensure safety of both voters and polling staff.
‘A good idea’
“It’s just not possible to sanitise a huge number of EVMs after every vote, so giving bamboo sticks to voters could be a good idea. They are environment-friendly too,” a polling official said, wishing not to be named. Another proposal, he added, could be to provide gloves to voters before pushing the buttons. “However, they are not final as we are still working on them,” said the official, adding that the proposals had been sent to the EC for final approval.
A senior official at the Bihar State Election Commission said they were concerned about the safety of voters and were initiating various measures to ensure that voters remained safe from coronavirus. “We have sent a few proposals for the safety of voters at polling booths and are working on it,” chief electoral officer of Bihar, H.R. Srinivasa, told the media on Wednesday.
What has kept the officials on their toes is the huge number of voters who will be joining the election process at this critical time and hence their safety remains a major concern for the poll panel. The state has estimated 71.8 million voters who will be standing in long queues before 106,000 polling stations to cast their votes. Glass shields
Safety of the polling officials is another cause for concern for the EC, and for this too, they are working on various proposals, such as putting up glass shields on their tables so that voters don’t come closer to them.
The increasing number of cases of COVID-19 has become a matter of serious concern in the state. According to the latest report by the Health Department, the virus has claimed 73 lives so far, while 10,075 people have been infected in the state. The only silver lining is the recovery rate, which stands at a high 77.52 per cent.
