Udupi SVEEP committee recognises island icon

UDUPI: As part of the Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP), a flagship programme of the Election Commission of India (ECI) for voter education, spreading voter awareness and promoting voter literacy, Udupi district administration officials are visiting some of the remotest areas of the district.
On Saturday, a team of officials including Udupi DC Kurma Rao M, zilla panchayat chief executive officer Prasanna H, superintendent of police (SP) Akshay MH, coastal security police SP Abdul Ahad, among others, visited the Kiniyara Kudru in Irodi gram panchayat of Bramhavar and recognised 91-year-old Jerom D'Souza as the island icon of the district.
"After inspecting the polling booths, we decided to visit some of the islands (kudru) to spread awareness among voters and encourage them to vote. Since Kiniyara Kudru, in the middle of River Sita, is not connected by a bridge, people have to cross the river by boat to go to school, hospitals and for other needs," ZP CEO Prasanna H told TOI.
"We were surprised to meet Jerom D'Souza, who has probably not missed a single election to date. An enthusiastic senior citizen, he prefer visiting the polling booth, rather than opting to vote from home. About 27 members from six houses have promised to vote without fail. D'Souza administered the oath and the DC recognised him as the island icon. He is likely to be part of more campaigns," Prasanna said.
During the interaction, the residents also demanded the authorities to set up a bridge to link the island to the mainland. On this, CEO Prasanna said, "Earlier there were many more houses in this Kudru, but a few families moved out of the island as it lacks road connectivity. On polling day too, the residents will have to travel in a boat for about 1.5 kms to exercise their franchise," he said.
Meanwhile, the officers were all praise for Sitakka, who accompanied her husband Manjunath aged above 90 years, from the neighbouring Kudru in a boat to be part of the voter awareness programme.
About two weeks ago, a team from the district administration had visited 13 houses in the remote village of Kabbinale in Hebri taluk, about 55 kilometres from Udupi. The team had interacted with Narayan Gowda, 74, who lives alone, and has been casting his vote in all the elections without fail.