SVEEP campaign reaches remote hamlets of Ladakh

In remote hamlets near the Sino-India border in the Ladakh region, election commission officials are using song, dance and other engaging means to educate voters on the importance of election.

Under the Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) campaign, mock poll sessions are also being organised in the hamlets, officials said.

They say their aim is to increase awareness among voters.

"We have reached the villages near the Sino-India border for SVEEP campaign," Avny Lavasa, the district electoral officer here, told PTI.

Lavasa, an IAS officer, is leading a team which is organising the programmes in Nyoma and Durbuk sub-divisions.

Apart from lectures, the awareness teams used innovative methods, like hands-on training, electronic voting machine (EVM) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) demonstrations and mock-polls -- to educate the voters.

Further, skits highlighting the advantages of casting votes and disadvantages of not participating in the process were also held.

"Song, dance, question-answer sessions, quiz competitions were also held to sensitise the people," the DEO said.

Later, badges with the "my vote counts" phrase printed in English and Bhoti languages were distributed.

The Ladakh Lok Sabha segment goes to poll in the fifth phase on May 6. Ladakh has 1,56,888 voters (85,763 in Kargil and 71,125 in Leh), out of whom 79,432 are male and 77,456 are female.

Extreme weather conditions and difficult terrain notwithstanding, the DEO and her team managed to reach out to the remote, nomadic locations like Tegazong, Anley, Korzok, Chushul, Man-Merak, tharuk and Tangtse.

The awareness programmes recorded heavy attendance in each location, officials said adding that village heads, representatives, senior citizens and government employees pledged to vote and spread awareness.

Taking the opportunity, Lavasa, who is also the deputy commissioner here, took the opportunity to review the performance of the welfare programmes in these areas.

Lavasa urged the people to remember the date of voting which is May 6 and to ensure maximum participation.

During the last parliamentary elections, BJP candidate Thupstan Chhewang won the Ladakh seat.

Ladakh, also known as the 'land of high passes', has a total area of 59,196 square kilometres. It extends from the Siachen Glacier in the Karakoram range to the main great Himalayas in the south and is inhabited by people of Indo-Aryan and Tibetan descent. It is one of the least populated regions in the state.