KOZHIKODE, April 11, 2015
Your personal touch to voter ID
MITHOSH JOSEPH
ID can be renewed with colour photo and info online
Voters in Kerala have warmly responded to an online service introduced by the Chief Electoral Officer for renewing the voter identity card with a colour photograph and updated personal information.
The number of voters who utilised the service within the last ten days is 6.41 lakh in Kerala, as per the records of the Election Commission.
Though Aadhaar seeding and information update are the priority for the Election Commission under the new drive, the offer to get a PVC voter identity card with colour photograph is seemingly the main attraction for the majority.
Akshaya centres are getting several clients to complete the procedure with their high-speed internet connectivity. The service will be available till April 15. Though the website ceo.kerala.gov.in provided for the online submission is often slow, officials say people are making patient attempts to get the work done. “Some quit midway,” the officials said.
Lack of awareness about the Aadhaar number and the voter identity card number had created problems for many while accessing the service, they said, adding that the majority of those quit midway belonged to this category. On keying in these numbers, the auto-fill option would work and they could easily move to the next step.
Officials said those who quit midway were trying to complete the procedures in consultation with the free helpline facility (1950). As photo uploading was difficult for many with weak internet connectivity, arrangements had been made to skip this step for easy submission. In such cases, voters could submit their photograph to booth-level officers assigned to verify the information submitted online.
6.41 lakh voters utilised service in past 10 days
Aadhaar, info update are poll panel’s priorities