Ganderbal, May 7: In a significant collaborative effort to boost voter awareness for the ongoing general elections 2024, District Legal Services Authority (DLSA), Ganderbal in collaboration with the Education Department, Ganderbal, organised an awareness programme at Govt. Boys Higher Secondary School, Kullan, Gund, aimed at spreading electoral literacy amongst the voters.
The event was held under the aegis of J&K Legal Services Authority and also under the insightful directions and overall supervision of Ritesh Kumar Dubey, Chairman, District Legal Services Authority Ganderbal, and Secretary District Legal Services Authority, Ganderbal, Nusrat Ali Hakak.
Speaking on the occasion, Nusrat Ali Hakak, Senior Judge/Secretary District Legal Services Authority, Ganderbal, in her presidential address said that the aim of the programme is to spread awareness among the masses about the importance of exercising their constitutional right to vote. She also informed participants to raise further awareness regarding their right to vote as guaranteed under Indian constitution. She said that the age to cast votes has been decreased from 21 years to 18 years so that more and more should participate for the changes they want to see in their country for its betterment.
Chief Education Officer, Ganderbal, Surjeet Kumar Sharma, informed the participants about the various initiatives taken by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to increase voter turnout and insisted one and all to participate in it.
District Nodal officer, SVEEP, Romysa Sangeen, highlighted the importance of SVEEP activities in creating awareness about electoral participation and educated students about the importance of voting and their role in the democratic process and asked all particularly females to participate. Pr Govt Boys Hr. Secondary School, Kullan, Mohammad Maqbool Dar, deliberated on the importance of every single vote.
The students actively participated in the programme and also pledged to become active voters and encourage others to do the same. The programme was a success and helped in creating awareness about the importance of electoral participation among the students.
Students of various schools also spoke on the occasion and threw light on the right to vote, in which Ifshana Salam of Govt. Boys Hr. Secondary School, Kulan, Asim Malik of Govt. Boys High Secondary School, Gagnigair and Rabia of Govt. Girls High School, Sonamarg were judged first, second and third, respectively. A painting competition under Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) was also held, as many as 11 students participated in the painting competition in which Faizan Ahmad of Govt. Boys Hr. Secondary School, Kulan, Tasleema Khatoon, of Govt. Boys Hr. Secondary School, Kulan and Amina Bano of Middle School, Balti Kulan, were judged first, second and third respectively.
Voter awareness rally under SVEEP campaign was also held and was flagged off by Nusrat Ali Hakak, Secretary, District Legal Services Authority, Ganderbal, Chief Education Officer, Ganderbal, Surjeet Kumar Sharma, and District Nodal officer, SVEEP, Romysa Sangeen. The faculty members, along with hundreds of students of school and local women participated in the rally, which began from school premises and culminated at Zirpora Kulan. The students of the school and local women raised electoral literacy related slogans. The objective of the awareness rally was to encourage the general public to vote in upcoming Lok Sabha elections in large numbers, motivate the young voters to participate in the electoral process without any hesitation and ensure maximum voter turnout to help in strengthening the core values of Indian democracy.