India General Elections 2024: Free rides and big discounts for Patna voters

The Patna district administration is actively promoting voting awareness in both urban and rural areas of the Pataliputra and Patna Sahib constituencies Over 43 lakh voters including transgenders are expected to vote in the final phase of the general election on June 1 Led by District Magistrate Kapil Ashok Shirsat officials have been running a lsquoknock the doorrsquo campaign since midFebruary to encourage voter turnout Additionally more than 78000 voters in these constituencies are over the age of 85Massive seizuresThough liquor is banned in Bihar since the Model Code of Conduct began on March 16 Patnarsquos administration has seized 39864 litres of liquor worth Rs 131 crore and narcotics worth Rs 230 crore Additionally eight weapon licences were revoked or surrendered and 94 illegal weapons and 290 live cartridges were confiscated to ensure peaceful pollingFree erickshaws ridesTo assist impoverished voters the district administration has organised 1000 erickshaws to operate in Patna Sahib and Pataliputra constituencies transporting voters to and from polling booths Patna District Public Relations Officer Lokesh Kumar Jha told midday ldquoNot only the government machinery but all stakeholders are participating in voter awareness activitiesrdquoCampaign to educate votersHe added ldquoPrivate institutions like cinema halls hospitals shopping malls and restaurants have come forward to offer lsquodemocracy discountsrsquo to those with inked fingersrdquo Private entities approached the Patna district magistrate with their discount proposals Jha stated ldquoDiscounts will be given by these private firms for two consecutive days June 1 and 2 All cinema halls in Patna will give a 50 per cent discount to anyone with an inked fingerrdquoJha also mentioned ldquoBike taxi service lsquoRapidorsquo announced free rides for voters on polling day After voting riders will be brought back home at no cost They need to use the code lsquoVote Nowrsquo on their applicationrdquo He highlighted the enthusiastic participation of various stakeholders including cinema halls food chains industry organisations schools and others in the awareness campaignldquoPramod Laddu Bhandar announced a 10 per cent discount for voters showing inked fingers on June 1 across their Patna branchesrdquo he said ldquoMany hospitals cafes cake shops and malls are offering concessions to voters which will help in registering a large voter turnoutrdquo Jha added ldquoSince midFebruary wersquove been running the lsquoknock the doorrsquo campaign meeting each voter Later we launched lsquoKnow Your Booth and Cast Your Votersquo to inform voters about their polling boothsrdquo Jha explainedldquoThere are 4290 polling booths in Pataliputra and Patna Sahib constituencies We organised lsquoMatdaan Sabharsquo at all booths starting from May 1 to discuss and clear voter doubts For those who couldnrsquot attend our officials visited their homesrdquo Jha saidldquoAdditionally wersquove been running a social media campaign to educate and spread awareness encouraging voters to exercise their democratic rights on June 1rdquo he concluded District Magistrate Shirsat and DDC Patna Tanai Sultaniya flagged off 67 voter awareness erickshaws from Gandhi Maidan to alleviate urban apathy DMrsquos appeal to voters of Patna Sahib and Pataliputra parliamentary constituencies ldquoCome out and vote on June 1rdquo