Kartik Vignesh, 19, a B.Com. student, and one among 2,000 civil defence volunteers posted at booths across the State, was at the Government Tamil Higher Primary School, helping voters find their booths and keeping an eye on the situation. “I had a few months off between my semesters and didn’t want to waste my time. I joined civil defence two weeks ago instead,” he says. At 4.30 a.m., he and his fellow volunteers assembled at Bharatinagar police station where they were given their rosters. The volunteers fill in places where only a few police personnel are present. Ironically, Kartik, a resident of K.R. Puram, could not vote this year as his voter card application filed two months ago has not yet been processed.
