Karnataka 2013: EC uses paraglider increase voter turnout

Bangalore: Electoral authorities in Karnataka have taken the aerial route by employing the services of a paraglider affiliated to Meghalaya Paragliding Association to create awareness about voting for 5 May assembly elections. Nikolai Singh, who started the project, is flying across the state in the paraglider and dropping pamphlets to create awareness and publicity about elections.[caption id=“attachment_704326” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Ready for polls. AFP[/caption] This is the cheapest means to create awareness about elections as nearly 10 to 15 villages can be covered on a single day, which is a laborious task using road as means of transport, Singh told reporters at Mangalore, some 350kms from Bangalore. The paragliding demo, as part of Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation Plan (SVEEP), was held at Mangalore today. “A three-hour non-stop flight can cover somewhere between 150 to 200km,” he said. A banner will also be hung from the paraglider relating to voter participation. The aerial approach to increase voter turnout was employed during Meghalaya Assembly elections last year, he said. This publicity drive has been initiated in different states including Karnataka, Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh. In Karnataka, nearly 29 districts are to be covered by the end of the month, Singh said. The campaign was flagged off from Bangalore on 7 April. Singh’s crew has reached Mangalore after covering Mysore, Mandya, Ramanagaram, Hassan and Kodagu. After flying over Mangalore, Singh will head to Udupi and later to Karwar. PTI