If doing your duty and casting your vote as a responsible citizen wasn’t motivation by itself, this year, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has made arrangements to make the voting process as seamless and convenient as possible.
With the scorching summer temperatures soaring up to 36 degrees Celsius, as of today, May 7, 2024, voting booths were equipped with air coolers and refreshments, such as 7 Up Nimbooz, Maaza as well as water bottles and dispensers.
Additionally, basic medical facilities were also provided in case of an unfortunate medical emergency.
While the thoughtful initiative was welcomed in many quarters, voters had differing opinions on this.
Charles Rodrigues (name changed) from Vasco was very disturbed after he was offered a bottle of the Nimbooz cold drink as he was exiting after casting his vote.
“I had gone at around 9.30 am, and luckily, there wasn't a very long queue at the booth. After I voted, I noticed that there was a bucket of refreshments,” he explained.
“My first thought steered towards the amount of garbage that would be generated after people consume the drinks,” he expressed his concern.
“There were people who even took two bottles after voting, and this could have been avoided only if they had made some other arrangements instead, like keeping a water container that only people who really were thirsty could drink from,” he added.
While many did avail of the refreshments, others said that they were not offered any. Among the unfortunate ones, who did not get to quench his thirst with a sugary drink, was a voter from Vasco.
On condition of anonymity, he said, “There was no sight of juice when I went to vote, at around 10 am. Later, I saw people walking out of the polling booths with juice bottles, and that’s when I realised that I didn’t get one.”
But, not getting a drink did not make much of difference as he said, “Although this initiative is good, especially due to the unbearable heat, drinking a sugary drink would only make people thirstier. In my opinion, if given a choice, I would pick plain water to beat the heat,” he concluded.
Another voter from Mapusa said that there weren’t any refreshments provided, while Alina Fernandes (name changed) from Divar said, “They weren’t serving any refreshments when I went to vote, but I did see a pack of the Rs 20 Limca bottles in the corner. I’m assuming they opened the pack later in the day,” she concluded.
Drink or no drink, if there was one thing that people went home with, it was the mark of indelible ink on the index finger of their left hand, a thirst for change, and hope in their hearts that their votes will help make the change that India so desperately needs.