GDA keeps holding camps for enrolling new voters and updating names, but residents say they have failed to get the names corrected, despite several attempts.
A special voter ID camp held in Ghaziabad on Sunday
While the district administration of Ghaziabad has made elaborate plans to enrol new voters, to make corrections and spread awareness during the upcoming National Voters Day on January 25, citizens complain that the procedure for updating voters' list is flawed. A common complaint is that despite filling up forms and submitting details several times, they have failed to get their names updated in the voters' list.
Apart from the local voter ID camps, the Ghaziabad District Administration (GDA) is all prepped to celebrate National Voters Day. Officials say camps are being organised at the local booth levels in coordination with local booth level officers.
Gyanendra Singh, ADM Administration, told City Spidey that the heads of all departments in the city administration have been asked to take part, while schools and colleges have been asked play their part in educating and spreading awareness about votes and voters.
Singh maintained that the drive was especially aimed at first-time voters and the ones who recently turned 18, the legal age for exercising the right to vote. “A programme in this regard is also being organised at the Hindi Bhawan on January 25, where social organisations, NGOs, officials and residents of the city will take part,” Singh further said.
Meanwhile, Atin Singhal, a young resident of ATS Advantage in Indirapuram, made his third attempt to get his name included in the voters' list at the recent voter’s ID camp in Indirapuram.
Singhal made his first attempt when he was 19 years old during the Assembly elections in 2017. However, his excitement about voting for the first time was doused, as his name could not be updated and he could not vote.
He made his second attempt in June 2017 during a special drive for new voters conducted by the district administration. The second attempt, too, failed, as his name was not updated. Despite filling forms both online and on paper, his name was not included in the voters' list. “We have submitted the documents on multiple occasions both online and at the voter camps, but the names have not been updated,” said Ajay Singhal, Atin’s father.
DK Pali, president of the East Avenue Apartments RWA, told City Spidey that the booth level officer of his area had never visited his society in the last eight years. “The district administration seems to make efforts for voter inclusion, but not achieve much. There are only a handful of registered voters in our society, which has more than a hundred households,” Pali said.
Gaurav Daga, another resident of ATS Advantage, told City Spidey that the names of none of the six adult members of his family have been updated. “We also have been trying to get it done online, but to no avail. There are several other problems. Apart from not updating voters, there is also the gap between the municipal voters' list and the general voters' list. I have been raising these issues with the authorities via tweets for quite some time now,” he said.
