Chief Electoral Officer P. Jawahar on Thursday flagged off a bicycle campaign on a two-pronged mission of raising voter awareness and a carbon-neutral general election in the Union Territory.
The cycle campaign undertaken by Krishnamurthy Ramasubramanian, 51, who worked as an art teacher in Kendriya Vidyalaya, for 22 years, will exhort electors, especially youth, to ensure 100% turnout on April 19 and also raise awareness on Election Commission of India’s voter-centric apps such as c-Vigil and “Saaksham” for voters and differently abled.
The campaign also upholds an environmental cause by propagating the imperative of reducing carbon footprints.
According to the Elections Department, the total carbon footprint of the election process is estimated on a calculus of the total waste generated, electricity usage, fuel usage and material consumption during the period from announcement of election date to declaration of results. This exercise is being undertaken in association with the Forest Department and Department of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Pondicherry University.
Based on these estimates, targeted carbon neutrality measures are planned for each component of the election process and participants, from voters and, political parties, and election machinery. Targeted interventions to reduce the consumption range across measures such as ensuring single use plastic in all offices and replacing plastic items with green/biodegradable materials. Besides, all stationery items, food, refreshments, etc supplied to election offices and polling booths will be in green material---plastic water bottles will be replaced with paper cups, or reusable stainless steel tumblers in all election offices.
Mr. Ramasubramanian will campaign across Puducherry and Karaikal.
In connection with the green campaign, District Election Officer A. Kulothungan had launched the sustainable election logo as part of a SVEEP programme at the Bharathidasan Government College for Women on Wednesday.
