CEC flags off cyclothon, walkathon in Hyderabad for voter awareness

Hyderabad, Oct 4 (IANS) Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar, along with the Election Commissioners Anup Chandra Pandey and Arun Goel, on Wednesday flagged off cyclothon and walkathon here as part of a voter awareness campaign.

Hundreds of people participated in the events launched at Cable Bridge, Durgam Cheruvu. 

The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Telangana organised the events in collaboration with Hyderabad Cycling Revolution with an objective to address urban apathy and enthuse the youth about the electoral process. 

The voter awareness drive will continue till October 10. The seven-day long ride is aimed at creating awareness among the people in various cities of Telangana on voting. 

The cyclists will cover various cities including Jangaon, Warangal, Siddipet, Karimnagar, Nirmal, Nizamabad and Kamareddy. 

The CEC and EC along with other officials of the ECI are on a three-day visit to Telangana to review poll preparedness for the forthcoming Assembly elections. 

On the first day of their visit on Tuesday, the team held a meeting with national and state recognised political parties. 

Later, it met with enforcement agencies to discuss key matters related to the upcoming elections. 

The meeting discussed measures to check the influence of money, liquor and other allurements to the voters. 

Telangana Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Vikas Raj and nodal officers of state and central police forces met the ECI team and made presentations about the poll preparedness. 

On Wednesday, the ECI team is holding a meeting with district election officers, collectors and superintendents of police to review the district-level preparedness. 

On October 5, the ECI team will visit the exhibition on Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) activities. 

There, it will interact with state icons, Persons with Disabilities (PwD) voters, and young voters to promote awareness and participation in the democratic process. 

The team will subsequently hold a crucial meeting with Chief Secretary Santhi Kumari and Director-General of Police (DGP) Anjani Kumar to discuss poll preparedness.