BENGALURU: Election fervour may soon make a quiet entry into your kitchens too. Milk and curd packets distributed by the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) are going to carry messages urging people to vote when the state goes to polls on April 18 and 23.
KMF sells 38 lakh litres of milk in plastic pouches. According to an official, “Milk sachets supplied to people in 14 districts in South Karnataka will have the date of election of April 18, while the remaining districts will carry the date of April 23. Almost every house buys milk or curd, and we want to reach them through this.’’
KMF, which had undertaken the exercise during the 2014 Lok Sabha election too, is one of the various government agencies launching novel initiatives to urge the public to participate in the parliament elections.
Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) has already begun carrying messages on tickets, reminding passengers to get their names registered in the electoral list. KSRTC runs over 8,700 buses and, on an average, 29 lakh people travel in their buses across the state.
The same message is being flashed on the LED panels at every KSRTC bus station. “The idea is to keep reminding the public about their responsibility of voting. There are many people who are frequent travellers, and such messages should make them vote and reach their home constituencies on the election day,’’ a senior KSRTC official told TNIE.
Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) also plans to make similar announcements at bus stations as well as on LED panels in buses, and via the passenger announcement system. BMTC is targeting the lakhs of commuters who use its fleet of 6,000-odd buses plying in the city every day.
Not one to be left behind on this front, Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) will also urge its commuters to vote. On an average, over 4.5 lakh people travel by Metro in Bengaluru. Additional Chief Secretary (Urban Development) Mahendra Jain, who is also one of the directors of BMRCL, said they plan to make the announcements inside Metro stations as well on LCD screens in the trains. The message will be relayed in English as well as in Kannada.