It was good in Hassan too

The mass voters’ registration drive conducted by the Election Commission, on Sunday, received a good response from the public, but the preparations at booths were inadequate.

Many voters returned home as there were no requisite forms available at the booths. In some cases, the booths were not opened, forcing booth-level officers (BLOs) to stand outside to attend to the public.

An aged couple walked into a polling booth in Chikkahonnenahalli and were told to bring SSLC marks cards to register. “We have moved to Hassan recently. Our names have been deleted in the voters’ list of our previous locality. I don’t understand the logic behind asking us to carry SSLC marks cards. We have Aadhaar cards with our dates of birth and residential address,” said the senior citizen to the BLO. However, they did not receive a satisfactory answer from the officer.

In many booths, there were no copies of Form 6, meant to enrol the names.

Though three booths are located at Aravinda School in the city, only one BLO was on duty on the day.

Some booths remained closed for the day, though the walls carried posters informing the public of mass voters’ registrations. In one booth located in the office of Karnataka Group Insurance Department’s office in Kuvempu Nagar, the BLO was seen attending to the public outside the building as the office was not opened. Due to a lack of coordination among the officers, many booths were not opened.

Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer K.M. Janaki visited some booths in Sakleshpur and monitored the mass drive.