Voters surprised, officials comfortable in 'Pink booths'

People who voted in the Government Municipality Girls High School here on Thursday were in for a pleasant surprise to find only women polling personnel in the booth.

This is one of the five all-woman booths were set up in Odisha's Ganjam district which went to polls on Thursday, a senior officer said here.

In the all-woman booths, termed 'Pink booths', all the polling officials were women, though the security personnel were men.

"I was surprised to find that all the polling personnel were women... including the presiding officer. I had never experienced that," a woman voter, who refused to be identified, said after exercising her franchise.

Usha Sahu, one of the polling personnel in the booth, said she is doing election duty for the first time and it is comfortable for her to be among women.

"The aim of having the pink booths is to encourage women participation in the entire polling process. These booths are managed entirely by women," said Ganjam District Collector Vijay Amruta Kulange.

One Pink Booth was set up in each of the five assembly constituencies of district - Berhampur, Chikiti, Chhatrapur, Gopalpur and Digaphandi.

These five assembly segments come under Berhampur Lok Sabha constituency.

First phase of Parliamentary and assembly polls were held simultaneously in Odisha on Thursday. Three more phases are left.