Waters helpline provided help to 1950 people in Surat, till now more than 1050 phone calls have cleared the confusion of voters

face: While the detailed program of the Lok Sabha General Elections, the great festival of democracy, has been announced, the Election Commission has launched convenient new schemes to increase the enthusiasm of the citizens to participate on this occasion and ensure maximum voting. One such project is the '1950' Waters Helpline. A separate unit is working on 24×7 basis in the Collector's office to answer the queries of the citizens of the city-district through this helpline. This unit listens to the phone calls of citizens and resolves their queries and dilemmas.

The '1950' cell functioning under the District Contact Center in the Collectorate office has received more than 1050 phone calls since the announcement of the elections. In which satisfactory answers have been given to the questions asked by the citizen-voters. 67 calls were received on 30th. Thus, the '1950' cell is receiving an average of around 70 calls per day, said Deputy Commissioners Abhishek Patel and Shweta T. Patel.

In the District Contact Centre, 6 Deputy Managers, 6 Clerks, 02 Operators are working 24 hours in three shifts. Citizens mostly ask questions regarding election card and voter list and other matters, to which this cell gives satisfactory answers. Many questions have been asked till now by the citizens like how many documents will be considered valid at the time of voting, whether the name is in the voter list or not, what is the status of the application made for amendment in the voter list etc.

Thus, through the '1950' helpline, citizens get answers to their queries. Along with getting the necessary information, they are also spreading awareness by giving information to others. This initiative of the Election Commission is helping in increasing the voting percentage and removing confusion among the voters.