This story is from April 24, 2019

Pune student returns to train teachers for election duty

Pune student returns to train teachers for election duty
Shrikant Waghawale and J B Bhalerao
PUNE: Ganesh Raghunath Bhise, an English and PT teacher at the Sant Tukaram Vidyalaya in Lohegaon, diligently oversaw the poll proceedings at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan on Tuesday. He has been performing election duties for the past 25 years, whenever given the task.
“My colleague had a student who has now become a top government official. My colleague and I have been trained for the poll duty by that same student,” he said with pride.

“We have had so many former students who have gone on to become IAS officers. Many from our teachers’ community also have children who became senior officials and are posted in Delhi. Had they been transferred to Pune, they would have given us training too,” Bhise said.
Bhise, who was the presiding officer at the booth, said it was his 20th election duty. Ever since his duty started on 8am on Monday, he had been on his toes.
But Bhise’s work was not over even after the day’s voting was done. He and the others were tasked with recording of votes, closing and sealing of the control unit and VVPAT and transferring the election material back.
Cops on poll duty
Police official Shrikant Waghawale left his home at 5.30am on Monday to carry out poll duties. He returned home on Tuesday night after the poll bandobust had concluded.
Waghawale, who is at present posted with the Pune city crime branch, had three important duties to perform — patrol, guard the EVMs and poll booth bandobust.

“As soon as I reported to work, I was assigned the duty of patrolling. After patrolling, we were assigned the job of safely transporting the EVMs to polling stations,” he said. In the afternoon, Waghawale and his colleagues stood guarded the polling station at Modern College. “We had lunch at the polling station,” he said. Later in the evening, we again patrolled the slums. “I stood guard at a polling station from 10pm on Monday till 5.30am on Tuesday,” he said.
At 5.30am, Waghawale went home to freshen up and returned to the polling station at 6am.
Leaving children home
J B Bhalerao, the woman constable attached to the Damini squad, was deployed at a polling centre in Kothrud.
Bhalerao, who has a five-year-old son, had left her home on Monday at 6am. “We stayed in one of the polling booths on Monday night,” she said. Bhalerao had to call her parents to look after her son. “I have not seen my son since Monday morning. But I don’t have any regret as election is an important part of our duty,” she said.
Wahida Mulani, a constable who is pregnant, had to leave her eight-year-old daughter at the neighbour’s house in Hadapsar as her husband, an SRPF personnel, too was assigned election duty.
“Fortunately, my colleagues are helpful. They allowed me to go home on Monday night,” Mulani said. She resumed duty before polling started on Tuesday.
End of Article
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA