A green booth in Coimbatore (Photo by J Jackson)
COIMBATORE: The Coimbatore district administration has set up 18 green booths where the voters will be given seed papers with a “thank you” note as a return gift. A voter may keep or throw away the paper seed.
Whatever, it will ultimately grow into a sapling or a tree. And the voters casting their votes at these booths will be contributing to the environment. During the 2024 Lok Sabha election, the election commission had distributed plant saplings to voters. An official said, “Last time, not many voters took the saplings. As an alternative, this time, seed papers have been planned for distribution. Even if the people throw away the paper, it will grow.”The green booths are equipped with eco-friendly materials, including benches and tables made of recycled used consumer plastics and multi-layered plastic. Additional features include solar-powered energy supply, rainwater harvesting, energy-efficient LED lights and waste segregations. For the interest of the voters, the district administration has displayed eco-friendly items made of clay, wood, plant leaves, jute and used glass bottles painted for ornamental purposes.
Six of these 18 booths, including one at Corporation Girls’ Higher Secondary School in Ram Nagar, will have recycled WPE furniture made of used consumer plastics blended with wood granules and scrap iron. These have been provided by city-based firm Zigma. The Election Commission has also set up a pink booth, a youth polling booth, a model polling booth and a special booth for people with disabilities, one each in all 10 constituencies in the district. The pink booths will be completely managed by women election staffers. Likewise, the youngest of the polling staff will be deployed at the youth polling booth. Each of these premises has a separate selfie point for Gen-Z to acknowledge and boost the first-time voters.According to a senior officer, all the polling stations in the district have adequate toilet facilities, including those for the disabled. “Ramps have been made for better accessibility. Mobile toilets have been installed at some polling stations,” he said.
