Leh, May 6:Women folk set an example in the remote Ladakh region again on Monday when they manned 49 polling stations in the Leh district.
Despite several challenges, the women staff performed their jobs while ensuring smooth conduct of voting. Leh district is part of Ladakh parliamentary seat which went to polls in the fifth and last phase of elections in the state on Monday.
“All my hesitation before entering the polling booth ended as soon as I saw women polling staff. I work as a labourer in Leh town and due to gender issues, people like us face difficulty while entering polling booths. It was a great experience for women electors,” said Rigzin Chorol at Skalzangling-B polling station, set up near Leh town, which was completely manned by women.
Another voter, Tsering Dolker, expressed the same thoughts. She said such initiatives boost the morale of women folk and give them equal opportunity in the election process.
An official at the district election office, Leh, said women staff were assigned to polling booths in both rural and urban areas of Nubra and Leh assembly segments.
However, they were exempted from manning hyper-sensitive and sensitive polling stations, the official said.
The deployment of women at polling stations started during the 2018 panchayat elections, when there were at least 29 polling stations in Leh district which were manned by 99 women employees.
