Hyderabad, Dec. 3: As usual, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation is making big claims about the ongoing preparation of photo electoral rolls. But if the previous exercise was anything to go by, then the euphoria may die out as soon as the rolls are released.
The GHMC spent a staggering Rs 6 crore on preparing photo electoral rolls in the last couple of years. And when the final list saw the light of the day, there were many surprises in store. Many men had turned into women and women had become men. Similarly, many who were living "died" and many who were dead became alive.
This was not all. Many young persons were amazed to see wrinkle-faced grey haired photos opposite their names. And many old-timers found out that the GHMC had made them shed decades from their age by giving them youthful photographs. Of course, one should not overlook the wrong names, spellings and addresses that peppered the list.
The amount of errors that crept into the list was nothing short of fantastic though the GHMC said it deputed 5,000 persons to prepare the rolls. Further, more than 5 lakh voters had no photographs to identify them. There were blank spaces opposite their names. It would not be fair to put all the blame on GHMC staff. They went door to door only to find that people had gone out for tea, left for good, shifted houses and even left the world.
Some may have returned, but the GHMC staff cannot be expected to knock at their doors again and again. Citizens too need to have some awareness of the need to be in the electoral rolls. And in the end of all their listing, sifting and preparing, all that the GHMC got was criticism and ridicule. But that has not prevented it from gloating again.
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