The Hindu : Front Page : Women seek poll duty exemption

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Thursday, May 08, 2008
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Women seek poll duty exemption

Staff Reporter

BANGALORE: A large number of women drafted for election duty here have sought to be exempted.

On Wednesday, even as the teams were being drafted for duty at polling booths in K.R. Puram Assembly constituency, many hoped that they would be exempted and substituted by others. An official of the Education Department was trying to put her nine-month-old baby to sleep amid the din at the Vidya Mandir in Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) where the election duty was being assigned.

She was among the many who were trying to get exemption from poll duty. “I cannot leave the baby at home and be on poll duty for two days,” she said.

Many others too cited personal reasons seeking exemption from poll duty. While a couple of them said they were in an advanced stage of pregnancy, some young women officials said that they were apprehensive of staying overnight at the booths with strangers.

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