1 week ago
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Along with distributing food to polling officials in polling stations and setting up food courts in polling material distribution centres, the Kudumbashree mission in some districts is engaged in making arrangements to ensure polling stations are women friendly.
In Palakkad, the Kudumbashree district mission has made one polling station in each of the 13 blocks in the district women friendly. These women friendly booths have feeding rooms for women. Young children who accompany their mothers to the polling stations have a recreational space where they can play. The play area, which will be decorated with balloons, will host the children with toys and sweets. There will be seats and a restroom for voters and those accompanying them. The Kudumbashree has also arranged drinking water in these booths.
All-woman booth
In Wayanad, the Kudumbashree has arranged a women-friendly booth at Government Lower Primary School, Poomala, Sulthan Bathery. The booth will have an arch made of pink balloons to welcome women voters. All the polling officials here will be women. Political parties have been urged to deploy women agents in the polling stations to the extent possible.
The booth will have a feeding corner where women can feed their infants. It will also have a play room ‘mini anganwadi’ for children to enjoy themselves in while their mothers wait in queue. A restroom for elderly voters too has been arranged in the booth.
Members of the Kudumbashree vigilant groups in uniform will be deployed to help voters who become tired after standing in queue or those in need of drinking water.
The Kudumbashree is also arranging a model polling station at Assumption High School, Sulthan Bathery. The booth has been decorated with natural materials, avoiding plastic.
