HYDERABAD: Lakhs of voters, including 1.5 lakh newly-enrolled voters, in Hyderabad are left in a limbo with the Meeseva and e-Seva centres stating that they do not have the equipment or access to the official website to print coloured photographs for the Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPICs).
With a little over a month left for the State Assembly elections and with the impending threat from the Meeseva centre operators to suspend services across the State from November 1, people are worried if they will be able to exercise their franchise or not.
Meanwhile, Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) officials told Express that they were unaware of the whole issue. “We will bring this to the notice of the Chief Electoral Officer of Telangana,” an official said on the condition of anonymity.
Earlier, to obtain new Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPICs) people had to apply online on www.ceotelangana.nic.in and collect the same from the Meeseva and e-Seva centres. However, a month ago, issuance of EPICs had been removed from the list of services provided by these service centres. But, people continue to queue up at the centres only to be turned away.
Speaking to Express, Baira Shankar, president of Telangana Mee Seva Joint Action Committee (TMAC), said: “After checking the status of their voter card application people come to the centres to get them and they do not understand that we don’t have access to issue the cards anymore.
Confused and harried, some of them have even levelled allegations that our operators are demanding extra money to give the cards,” he said.
Shankar further explained that earlier the database was linked to State Election Commission portal and the Meeseva operators could search for his/her details and print voters’ cards.