Rajahmundry: Here is good news for those who had failed to get themselves enrolled as voters or get certain changes updated in the electoral rolls by Tuesday 5.00 pm as the state Election Commission has extended the deadline till December 23 in the state.
Large number of people rushed to several internet cafes as a last effort to submit the requisite forms online to register their names in the electoral rolls, but their efforts proved futile as the Election Commission's official website crashed.
There was a mad rush of people, especially the youngsters, to several internet cafes in the city on Tuesday from the morning itself. But only some of them managed to submit the forms online, while a majority of them failed in their attempt.
Some of them literally cursed the authorities for depriving their opportunity to get registered as voters as the final list of rolls is scheduled to be published in the second week of January. Though voter registration is a continuous exercise, but those who get registered before the deadline will be lucky enough to find their names in the final list.
RDO M. Venugopal Reddy said, "It is unfortunate that a section of people rushing to the internet cafes at the last minute to submit forms to enroll in the electoral rolls. We have been carrying out widespread publicity for a long time.
Moreover, we have given instructions to the booth level officers to accept requisite forms from the people irrespective of whether they fall under the purview of that specific polling booth to avoid any trouble to the people in order to get their names registered in the rolls. As the election authorities have extended the deadline for enrolment in the rolls, I believe all those who failed to get their forms submitted on-line will avail the opportunity"
Unlike the earlier days where the political parties used to play vital role in persuading the youngsters in person to get enrolled as voters, the youth have become more proactive in getting enrolled.
Politicians seem to be preoccupied with the Telangana issue and are camping in Hyderabad as the AP Reorganisation bill was tabled in the Assembly for debate. The leaders seem to be concerned about the future of the state at this moment.
