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Production, procurement of EVMs, VVPATs for 2019 LS polls on track: EC

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New Delhi, Sep 26 (IANS) The Election Commission on Wednesday said the required number of EVMs and VVPAT machines would be available well before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The poll panel said it has enhanced the requirement of additional VVPATs from 125 per cent to 135 per cent considering the trend of failure rate of VVPATs in past elections, besides adopting the hardware improvement for the machines in view of a large number of paper trail units failure in Kairana and Bhadara-Gondiya by-polls earlier this year.

“In order to meet the requirement of 100 per cent voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines for all polling stations for the upcoming Lok Sabha Election in 2019, the Commission placed an order of 17.45 lakh VVPATs to Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bangalore and Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Hyderabad.

“To date, 9.45 lakh units have been produced by the firms. Both the public sector firms have assured the Commission that the remaining VVPAT units (8 lakh) will be manufactured and supplied to the various states and Union Territories comfortably before the end of November this year,” the EC said in a statement.

The poll panel said it has been “consistently and periodically” reviewing the status of production and supply of VVPAT units with the top brass of BEL and ECIL.

It said it is also keeping in touch with the Technical Expert Committee (TEC) – which is carrying out a “rigorous supervision” of the production process and product performance – to ensure that the design, production and supply activities of all the units of EVMs and VVPATs are “streamlined and completed in a time-bound manner” after incorporating the features suggested by the TEC.

“The officers of the Commission are monitoring the manufacturing and supply of machines on a daily basis in order to ensure timely delivery and pre-poll preparedness,” the EC said.

The Commission has estimated 171 per cent Ballot Units, 125 per cent Control Units and 135 per cent VVPATs requirements for upcoming Lok Sabha elections.

In case of any error in VVPAT, only VVPAT is replaced with the reserve one, whereas, in case of any error in Ballot Unit or Control Unit of the EVM, the entire set of Ballot Unit, Control Unit and VVPAT is changed, resulting in more requirement of VVPATs than of Control Units of EVMs.

“Learning from experience of Kairana and Bhandara-Gondiya bye-polls held in May 2018 where the errors were mainly caused by excessive exposure to illumination in the polling stations, the Commission has adopted the hardware improvement recommended by the TEC to prevent auto shutdown of VVPATs due to excessive light,” it said.

The EC said systematic preparatory activities, including the detailed first level checking of EVMs and VVPATs, have already commenced across various states/UTs ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, and will be completed in an efficient, effective and timely manner.

“First level checks workshops and trainings of polling officials are being regularly conducted by the Commission to minimize EVM and VVPAT failures due to human errors,” the poll panel said.

In the last 20 years, the EC has conducted 113 state assembly elections and three Lok Sabha elections using EVMs. Since June 2017, VVPAT machines have also been used along with EVMs in general as well as by-elections.

–IANS
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Dr. Abhishek Verma Dedicates a Shelter in Memory of His Mother, Veena Verma, at KGMU; Inaugurated by Daughter Nicolle Verma

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World-renowned business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has supported Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission. In memory of his mother, Late Veena Verma, who was a 3 term Rajya Sabha MP.

Dr. Verma dedicated a state-of-the-art free permanent shelter for the attendants of patients at KGMU Medical University, Lucknow, under the aegis of Vijay Shree Foundation. His daughter, Nicolle Verma, inaugurated the shelter.

During the event, Foodman Vishal Singh honored Nicolle Verma by presenting her with a memento. Mrs. Nidhi Sharma and Avantika Yadav, associated with the organization, welcomed her with garlands. Following this, Nicolle Verma distributed essential items to the attendants and also handed out fruits. She became emotional remembering her grandmother on her birth anniversary.

On this occasion, she also inaugurated the “Veena Verma Sevalaya” in memory of her grandmother, Veena Verma, to serve the attendants. She expressed, “I feel proud that my family is engaged in nation-building as well as social service. Today, in collaboration with Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh Ji, I feel immensely proud to dedicate this shelter for the poor, helpless, and needy attendants of patients battling serious illnesses like cancer. I am honored to be associated with the Hunger-Free World Mission for humanity.”

Inspired by the continuous humanitarian service provided by Vijay Shree Foundation over the past 17 years, Nicolle Verma donated 10 lakh rupees to support the cause. The purpose of this donation is to ensure that services continue for the needy attendants of patients suffering from severe illnesses in hospitals, as facilitated by Foodman Vishal Singh.

It is noteworthy that Dr. Abhishek Verma’s family has a legacy of public and philanthropic service. They are helping millions to carry forward the values and service work of their parents. On the occasion of his mother’s birth anniversary, Dr. Abhishek Verma dedicated this state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College to serve the attendants of patients through the Vijay Shree Foundation.

Supporting Foodman Vishal Singh’s Hunger-Free World mission, Dr. Abhishek Verma assured that he would continually support keeping this flame of humanity alive. He also promised to assist in providing medicines to the helpless patients.

Continuing her grandmother’s legacy of service, Nicolle Verma personally served food to the needy patients and attendants. She said, “It is our good fortune to have received the joy of doing this noble work today through Foodman Vishal Singh. I have taken another step forward in carrying my family’s values and cooperation by joining hands with the Vijay Shree Foundation. My father taught me to serve and help the needy, and I feel happy when I bring a smile to someone’s face.”

On the birth anniversary of the late Veena Verma, the event organizer, Vijay Shree Foundation founder Foodman Vishal Singh, said, “We feel proud and happy that Dr. Abhishek Verma, a globally renowned business tycoon, has extended his support to uplift our country from the hunger index. Today, on his mother’s birth anniversary, he inaugurated a state-of-the-art permanent shelter at Lucknow Medical College, which will always be helpful for the needy attendants of patients. It is a pleasure for me and the organization to receive the affection of Mr. Verma.”

The event was attended by General Manager Verma Family Office Hemant Garg, Sonu Rajput, and the organization’s volunteers, including Sandeep Singh, Parmeshwar Ji, Prashant Rao Gautam, Balram Singh, Ramesh Chaudhary, Suman, Jeetu, Anil, Suraj, Vinay, Manish Bhadauria, Manas Mehrotra, Vivek, Apurv, Happy, and others.

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