7th National Voters Day with ‘Empowering young and Future Voters’ theme celebrated across State

Excelsior Correspondent

JAMMU, Jan 25: The 7th National Voters Day with the theme “Empowering young and Future Voters” was celebrated across the State with great zeal and enthusiasm.
JAMMU: Governor NN Vohra participated in the National Voters’ Day celebrations, organized by the State Election Department here today. Governor urged the youth above 18 years to get registered as voters and meaningfully participate in the next elections to see that the State is run by an efficient government. He exhorted the voters to be particularly mindful, while casting their votes, why they are voting for a particular candidate.
Noting that the Special Summary Revision-2017 of the electoral rolls in Jammu and Kashmir has resulted in over 1.95 lakh new voters being enrolled, the Governor expressed hope that all other eligible citizens in the State will lose no further time in getting enrolled so that they become entitled to exercise their franchise at the forthcoming polls in the State.
Governor lauded the various school and colleges groups for presenting skits which sought to educate the audience about “The Vote and its Value”. He also congratulated the officers who were awarded for doing exemplary election related work.
Participants were administered National Voters’ Day pledge on the occasion. Electors Photo Identity Cards (EPICs) were distributed to the voters. Governor presented EPICs to about two dozen new voters and also released State Election Department’s Newsletter on the occasion.
Shantmanu, Chief Electoral Officer J&K while addressing the gathering highlighted the functioning of the Department, its achievements and future targets.
The keynote address was presented by Raman Kesar, Joint Chief Electoral Officer, and the vote of thanks was given by Simrandeep Singh, Deputy Commissioner Jammu.
Among those present on the occasion were Dr SP Vaid, DGP and Shaleen Kabra, Principal Secretary Education.
Internal Quality Assurance Cell of Government PG College for Women, Gandhi Nagar celebrated National Voters Day by organising a quiz competition on “Democracy and Election System in India”. On the occasion, Dr Kiran Bakshi, Principal of the College was the chief guest. Dr Surinder Sharma, Convenor IQAC and Coordinator of the Quiz presented the welcome address. Kaneez Fatima and Mehrum Nisa of Government PG College for Women, Gandhi Nagar emerged winner, whereas second and third prizes were clinched by Government SPMR College of Commerce and Government MAM College. The team of GDC Paloura was given consolation prize. Prof Shivani Manchanda was the quiz master whereas Prof Shrotika Rajput presented vote of thanks.
NSS Unit of Dogra College of Education in connection with National Voters Day organized an Essay Writing Competition, wherein 37 NSS volunteers participated. The programme was conducted under the guidance of Jyoti Raina Member, NSS Unit of the College. Shefali Sharma Principal Dogra College of Education in her address threw light on the importance of the day. Bela Thakur, Director Academics of the College also expressed her views. In the competition, Indika Atri stood first, while Anubhuti Jangral and Shashi Bharti secured second and third positions respectively. The panel of judges included Indu Puri, Shweta Sood and Priyanka Sharma.
RAJOURI: 7th National Voters Day was celebrated here today, wherein the main function was chaired by Advisory Board for the Development of Pahari Speaking People Kuldeep Raj Gupta. District Election Officer Shabir Ahmed Bhat, senior officers of various departments, representatives of various political parties and prominent citizens were present on the occasion. Similar functions were held at all the Subdivisions; tehsil and Booth level where AERO administered pledge and distributed EPICs among the newly enrolled voters.
Government PG College Rajouri celebrated National Voters Day, wherein students participated with zeal and enthusiasm. The programme was presided over by the Principal Prof Shabir Hussain Shah, who aware the students about the importance of the day. The programme was coordinated by Prof Raheela Mushtaq, NSS Programme Officer, while Prof MR Sharma, HoD Department of Zoology, Dr Shafia Saleem, Associate NCC Officer, Dr Harsh, Dr Tahir Shah, Prof Shahid Mir and Prof Imtiaz Rashid were also present.
National Voters day was celebrated at GDC Thannamandi. Principal of the College Dr Shakeel Ahmed Raina was the chief guest on the occasion who advised the students to actively participate in the electoral process and get their names registered in the voters list, if not yet. Dr Abbas Wani HOD Political Science who was resource person on this occasion spoke at length on the theme of the day. Prof Saleem Ayaz Rather, HoD Zoology, Dr Umar Farooq, HoD Botany, Ashfaq Ahmed, Lecture History, Mohd Latief, Shafqat Qazi, students and staff members were also present on the occasion.
Himalayan Degree College Rajouri celebrated National Voters Day, in which students and college staffers took part with great zeal and enthusiasm. Prof Wasim Raja Malik and Prof Abdul Mabood gave presented speeches highlighting the importance of the day. Principal of the college Dr Ayub eulogised the vibrant and prolific democracy of India and reminded that on the same day in 1951 the Election Commission of India had come into existence and in 2011 on the same day National Voters Day was celebrated throughout the country. The event ended with a vote of thanks by Syed Mehran.
KISHTWAR: The main function was held at Government Boys Higher Secondary School where Additional Deputy Commissioner Kishori Lal distributed EPICs among the  new voters and asked the participants to take part in democratic process in free and fair manner. He also awarded BLOs for their best performances in field. Chief Education Officer,  AH Fani, District Youth Services and Sports Officer Diwan Thakur, DSWO Phulail Singh, Tehsildar  Irshad Butt, NT Election cell besides other officers were present on the occasion.
DODA: District Election officer Doda Bhupinder Kumar distributed EPICs among the first time registered voters. Prizes were distributed among the winners of Painting competition organised on the said theme by Election Cell. Momin Islahi of Shaheen Public HSS was awarded first prize whereas Iqra Balwan and Junaid bagged second and third prizes respectively. BLOs were felicitated for carrying out purification of the electoral rolls. Additional Deputy Commissioner  Mohammad Hanief Malik, CPO Yoginder Katoch, CEO Mohd Ashraf Rather, Tehsildar  Nasir Ali, DRCS Anoop Kumar besides other district officers were present on the occasion.
UDHAMPUR: Various awareness programmes were organized in the district by the District Election Office under the theme “Empowering Young and Future Voters”. A large number of students participated in various cultural programmes like group songs, rangoli competition, group dances and skits, which highlighted the importance of the day. DEO District Niraj Kumar felicitated various officers for their excellent performance in the election related activities. Chief Planning Officer, Rakesh Jamwal, ACR Subhash Chander Dogra, CMO Dr Chander Prakash, CEO Bishan Singh, DSWO Rachna Sharma, Principals of various schools, teachers and a large number of students were present on the occasion. A debate competition was also organized at Ramnagar in which students of various educational institutions participated and expressed their views on the importance of the day.
SAMBA: The main function was held at Bhargava Degree College where the District Election Officer Sheetal Nanda administered National Voters Day pledge to the participants and distributed EPIC’s among the new voters. DDC also felicitated booth level officers Qasim Ali, Ramesh Kumar, Sohanu Kumar and Vijay Kumar, senior voters of the district, Shiv Ram aged 98 years and Madan Mohan aged 88. Prizes were also distributed among Trinayni Manyal, Chetan Sharma and Ankita Sharma who stood first, second and third in the slogan writing competition.
REASI: District Election Officer Ravinder Kumar administered the National Voters Day pledge and distributed EPIC’s among the new voters. Additional Deputy Commissioner Babu Ram, ACR Abdul Satar, Deputy District Election Officer Surjeet Singh, officers of various other departments, BLOs, representative of political parties, students and local people were present on the occasion. DC also visited Government Degree College, Girl Higher Secondary School and some other institutions to inspect various events and activities held to mark the celebration of National Voter Day. Similar events were also held in various offices and educational institutions in Katra, Pouni, Arnas, Mahore, Dharmari, Chassana and remotest areas.
KATHUA: 7th National Voters Day was celebrated with great enthusiasm across the district. The main function was organized at Government Degree College where DC Kathua Ramesh Kumar was the chief guest. ADC Dr Bharat Bhushan and SSP Pawan Parihar were also present on the occasion. On the occasion, DC distributed EPIC’s among the newly enrolled voters besides administering pledge to the participants. Similarly programmes were organized at all the tehsil headquarters in the districts.
Government Degree College, Billawar in collaboration with Sub Division Administration, Billawar celebrated National Voters’ Day in the college premises. On the occasion, pledge was administered to the students, followed by distribution of EPIC card to the newly enrolled voters. A symposium was organized on the topic “Right to Vote as the Root of Democracy”. Rajesh Basotra, SDM Billawar was the chief guest on the occasion, while Suresh Kumar Sharma, Principal GDC Billawar presided over the function. The performances of the students were adjudged by the jury comprising Prof Amit Kumar Sharma, Lecturer Mukesh Kumari and Assistant Lecturer Rupali Gupta. Mohammad Bilal of IV Semester was adjudged as the best speaker, while the second and third positions were secured by Shivani of II Semester and Arti of IV Semester respectively. The entire event was compeered Arti Devi.
POONCH: The main function was held at Government Degree College, which was attended by the District Election Officer, Mohammad Harun Malik, Assistant Commissioner Revenue Ashraf Chowdhury, ACD Mohammad Zabir Hussain Shah, ARTO Poonch Jehangir Khan, besides other officers, prominent citizens and students. The programmes were also organized at Tehsil, Niabat, village, panchayat and even at polling booth level.
RAMBAN: The main function was organised by the District administration at Maitra. During the programme, new voters were handed over their new voter identity cards by the chief guest Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC), Angrez Singh Rana. Meanwhile, the day was also celebrated at Batote under the chairmanship of Tehsildar, Srinath Suman wherein as many as 800 new voters were given their new voter identity cards. On the occasion, the participants were also educated on the Cashless Transaction by the Managers of SBI, J&K Bank and Punjab and Sind Bank, Batote.
SRINAGAR: The day was celebrated at Government College for Women, MA Road. Deputy Commissioner Srinagar, Dr Farooq Ahmad Lone who is also District Election Officer, attended the function as chief guest, while Deputy District Election Officer, all Election Registration Officers (EROs), Assistant Election Registration Officers (AEROs), Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and other concerned officials were present on the occasion. Voter’s Pledge was also read where all participants were in a standing manner. Later, DEO hand EPICs among new voters, besides appreciation certificates among best EROs, AEROs and BLOs. Similarly, the National Voters Day was observed at all district headquarters of the valley.
PULWAMA: The NVD was observed in Town Hall, where the District Election officer (Deputy Commissioner), Muneer ul-Islam was the chief guest.
SHOPAIN: The Day was celebrated in which District Election officer distributed 300 Election identity Cards (EIC) among newly registered voters including 184 males and 116 females.
BUDGAM: National Voters Day was celebrated at Sheikh-Ul-Alam Hall, Budgam which was chaired by the District Election Officer/Deputy Commissioner Budgam, Mir Altaf Ahmad. DEO informed that 14515 new eligible voters have been enrolled in the District.
BANDIPORA: On the eve of NVD, a function was organized at Deputy Commissioners Office under the chairmanship of District Election Officer (DEO), Sajad Hussain. On the occasion, the DEO distributed EPICS among the newly enrolled voters. Similar functions were also held at other Tehsil headquarters of the District to mark National Voters Day.
SUMBAL: The function was held at Community Hall Sumbal where SDM Sumbal distributed EPICS among the newly enrolled Voters.
ANANTNAG: The 7th National Voters Day was celebrated at Auditorium Hall, Government Degree College Khanabal, On the occasion, Deputy Commissioner, Dr Syed Abid Rasheed Shah who is also District Election Officer informed that during the Special Summery Revision 2016-2017, as many as 12650 additions were made in the electoral rolls of the district besides 4148 deletions. Similar function was also organized at town Hall Ashmuqam where SDM, Pahalgam, CEO Pahalgam and other officers highlighted the importance of the day.
KUPWARA: The main function was presided over by the District Election Officer Kupwara GM Dar at Town Hall Kupwara wherein the new voters registered under Electoral rolls 2017 were provided 6589 EPICS on the spot. Similar functions were also held at Handwara and Tanghdar wherein the ADC Handwara Peerzada Muzaffar Ahmad and SDM Karnah Shabir Indrabi distributed EPICS among new registered voters on the spot.
BARAMULLA: A function in connection with the celebration of National Voters day was held at Dak Bungalow, wherein Deputy Commissioner, Dr Nassir Ahmad Naqash was the chief guest. During the function, voter identity cards were distributed among the newly registered voters. It was informed that as per the final roll 2017, the total number of voters in district Baramulla is 606438. The additions of 6675 were made during 2017.
GANDERBAL: The day was celebrated at Mini Secretariat here in which Deputy Commissioner, Tariq Hussain Ganai distributed new Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPICS) among the new registered voters. Awards were also distributed among the participants who bagged the first, second and third positions in delivering the speeches highlighting the importance of National Voters Day.
KULGAM: The NVD was celebrated at Government Degree College, here. Deputy Commissioner, Kulgam, Showkat Aijaz Bhat who is also the District Election Officer, while informing about the Summary Revisions 2016-2017 of electoral rolls of the Kulgam district, said that 5511 persons were registered as new voters in the district. On the occasion, 390 EPICS were distributed among newly registered voters. Similar functions were held at all the Tehsil and Niabat headquarters, besides Sub Division DH Pora of the district.

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