Rourkela: The city administration is organising camps to create voter awareness for the new as well as the old electorate. The sole aim of the camps is to build a rapport with the voters and seek their suggestions for the smooth and seamless conduct of the polls. Sources said that the administration will organise such camps in this city and Raghunathpalli in Sundargarh district. The administration is targetting college students mainly as most of them are first-time voters. The administration is demonstrating the utility of EVMs. Rakesh Das, a student at one of the local colleges said, “I have been listening to all kinds of rumours about EVMs and how they can be manipulated.
Since I am a new voter, I was a bit worried. But ever since I participated in the awareness programme all my apprehensions are gone.” Many students opined on the same lines and asserted that apprehensions regarding the EVMs ‘have vanished completely’.
Speaking about the awareness programmes, sub-collector Rourkela, Bijay K Nayak said, “We are trying to project how user-friendly the EVMs are. Residents of many localities are participating wholeheartedly in the camps. The college students are very keen to know how the machines function.” City officials have plans to hold more such inter-active sessions with voters, especially the new ones. In the coming days many more such camps will be organised, the sub-collector added.