Nothing model about these polling stations?

The 68 model polling stations, which were touted to be equipped with facilities such as e-rickshaws to ferry voters, drinking water, ambulance-on-call, ‘May I help’ desk, sign language experts for the hearing-impaired, and courteous attendants, turned out to be not-so-model, after all.

For instance the Dilshad Garden model polling station had wheelchairs and two attendants. “But, the rest of the promised facilities were nowhere to be seen,” a police officer, who was deployed at the booth, said.

With temperature hovering around 41 degrees Celsius, many polling stations had no facility for drinking water. Banners about different facilities could be seen but the facilities themselves were conspicuous by their absence. In fact, the staffers at many booths were were not even aware that they were deployed at a model polling station.

Among other things, these stations were supposed to have separate sitting arrangement with drinking water facilities, so that voters did not have to stand in long queues. Red carpets were put up at some stations, but by afternoon even those had disappeared.

The situation seemed to be the same at other model polling stations, including Seemapur, Kondli, and Krishna Nagar.

The concept was introduced during the 2013 December Assembly polls in Delhi, when the Election …read more