Dimapur, May 30 (MExN): The Western Sumi Kukami Hoho (WSKH) has requested the District Electoral Officer of Dimapur district to conduct the Elector Photo Identity Card (EPIC) exercise from village to village and ‘not at designated centers.’ The ‘hoho’ cited inconveniences associated with distance, timing and farming engagements as the reasons the EPIC drive should be conducted in specified areas. The ‘hoho’ issued a copy of a letter addressed to the electoral administration of Dimapur. The ‘hoho’ noted the notification of the government outlining the time and schedule for implementation of the EPIC drive for Dimapur district.
By the notification, villages were clubbed together at designated centers for photography beginning from June 1, 2011 and the timing scheduled from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.
The WSKH stated – “We do not find it in public interest for entire villages to be assembled for hours together in the sun without facilities, in designated locations far from their home and hearth. You will appreciate that this is the planting season and villagers are required to attend to their farming activities. In the ongoing UID exercise, the agencies entrusted have been proceeding from village to village. We fail to understand how EPIC exercise cannot be conducted in a similar manner, particularly given the fact that the EPIC programme is smaller in scale.”
The organization requests the officials and agencies in concern to place public interest ‘above personal interest’ and conduct the EPIC exercise from village to village and not at designated centers.
