Disappearing act – photographs go missing from the electoral rolls

Nineteen-year-old Melvin Fernandes hailing from the Velim constituency part of the South Goa Lok Sabha constituency in the western state of Goa is in upbeat mood. He will cast his vote for the first time. But, the eagerly awaited excitement to press the button of the Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) to cast his vote has not come easy for the catering student. He had to toil for it. He had to travel from Velim to Margao city- the nerve centre of Goan economy and the centre of the South Goa district to get his missing links in his voting card restored in the system which dramatically within a span of one year.

Although Melvin’s name and other details were correctly featured on the electoral roll his photograph was the missing link. With his photograph missing from the electoral roll his old electoral card was rendered useless.  A greater threat of being turned back from the polling booth door on election day of April 23 held in store for Melvin. It was then he decided to take the trip to the Margao’s South Goa collectorate to set things on the right track.

Melvin is not alone; there are many others like him, whose pictures were not featuring on the electoral rolls although they have twice and even thrice attended the photography procedures of the government diligently, every time they were called in to do so. Others had their photo identity cards in their possession but their photographs had done the disappearing act from the electoral rolls. And in their absence of their photographs missing from the electoral rolls  they will not be allowed be to vote in the parliamentary elections, the first phase which  has been set in motion a couple of days back.

The photos did a vanishing act for no fault of the voter but for the negligence of the government officials and the agencies that have been out-sourced the photography work.

And the missing photographs is not a localized Goan-level phenomena but an All-India problem as the Hyderabad based company has goofed on the details of the voters spread against the width and breadth of the country.

In Goa, officials at the  South  Goa collectorate informed that around 20,000 voters  photographs  are missing from the electoral rolls and an equal number from the North Goa Lok Sabha constituency.

For each of the missing photographs the outsourcing company assigned with photographic work charge rupees twenty each. And that involves a huge amount taking into account the all-india figures are taken  into account.

Many voters opined that the disappearance of photographs is a ‘man made’ error is a bid to rob the government funds through artificially created errors.

Every day duty-conscious voters have been queuing up outside the district offices  in Goa to get the mistakes rectified on their electoral cards, starting their day very early.

“People start moving into the complex at 7am and the office opened at 10am, it is at that time when the officials started accepting forms,” said Veena Gracias, who stood in a queue on Friday to get herself photographed.

While people who started early in the queue went home happy with a new look mistake-free electoral card at the end of the day, others like Michael Fernandes were not so lucky, they were turned back as the office shutters were down at 5 pm.

The photography office hours range from 10 to 1pm and 2.30 to 5.00pm.

Chaos reigned from the start to the end in Margao as people got tanned in the hot sun waiting for their turn to get the click of the mouse moving.

The queue system was followed more in the breach. The leakage occurring when the policemen and women having gone for the lunch break and in true Goan leisurely style turning up back for duty at 3.30 pm to keep an eye on the crowds. By that time the damage has been done and many broke into the queue leaving many stranded.

And Milton Fernandes was one of them who after spending nearly six hours in the sun had to go back home without his work being done. He has to start all over it again on Saturday and Sunday. If luck clicks he will get a chance to vote otherwise, it is all over.

“The authorities should have a token system for the people standing in the queue or alternatively should have erected barricades so that no one is allowed to break the queue”, said Milton.

Till then Milton will have to wait for another day to give the electoral photography another shot toiling for hours in the hot summer sun.