JHANSI: As the queues outside Jalaun district jail grew longer in the scorching heat on Sunday, most visitors had little else on their minds except to meet their kin lodged inside and getting mandatory security stamp on their hand as part of security protocol as per the prison rules. These visitors, however, were in for a surprise when they saw a motivational message — one urging them to exercise their right to vote — also being stamped on their arm as they entered the district jail.The initiative was the brainchild of Jalaun district magistrate Mannan Akthar and jail superintendent Sitaram Sharma. Officials said it was aimed at encouraging people to step out of their homes on the day of voting and cast their vote in the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections.The event was organised as part of the district administration’s ongoing drive ‘Systematic Voters Education and Electoral Participation Programme’ ( SVEEP). A camp was set up for visitors outside district jail’s premises. Jalaun district inspector of school, who is nodal head of SVEEP, also attended camp.The stamped hands of visitors featured messages like ‘Youth chala booth’, ‘Matdan Mahotsav 29 April 2019’, ‘Vote for Jalaun’, ‘Yuva josh yuva vote’ and ‘Ek soch ek vote’. 32-year-old Manish Diwedi, who works in Bengaluru and had come to meet his brother, said, “This is an innovative way to motivate voters. Both the DM and jail superintendent were present at the camp and they personally appealed to me to vote.” Jalaun DM Manan Akhtar, said, “Over 250 visitors were stamped with motivational messages. We urged them not just to vote but also to become SVEEP ambassadors and motivate others to use their right to franchise, both personally and on social media. We will continue the initiative till the district goes to polling. We are mainly focussing on youth and first-time voters as we have observed that their voting percentage is low.”

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