*Voters must dedicate one day to the country, every vote is important in democracy, Anurag Agarwal

*In Haryana voting will be held on May 25 in the sixth phase, 19,812 polling stations setup in the state

* EPIC card and photo voter slip will be issued in Braille script for the convenience of visually impaired voters

Chandigarh, May 4 - Haryana Chief Electoral Officer, Sh. Anurag Agarwal said that every vote is important in democracy, so it is the duty of every voter to dedicate one day to the country. He has appealed to the people of the state to ensure maximum participation in the Lok Sabha 2024 general elections, scheduled to be held on May 25.

He informed that 19,812 polling stations have been set up at 10,363 locations across the state, including 13,588 in rural areas and 6,224 in urban areas. There are polling booths at 2,400 locations in cities and 7,963 locations in villages.

Sh. Anurag Agarwal said that for the convenience of visually impaired voters in the state, EPIC cards and photo voter slips will be printed in Braille script, and facilities such as Braille ballot papers and slips on EVMs will also be available. In addition to this, various facilities are being provided to PwD voters, including arrangements for wheelchairs, ramps at polling stations, and transportation.

He said that arrangements will be made to bring PwD voters to the polling station. Wheelchairs will also be made available to those voters who are unable to walk. Arrangements for ramps will be made at every polling station. Additionally, arrangements for volunteers from NGOs, NSS, and Red Cross will also be made for their assistance, shared Sh. Anurag Agarwal.

The Chief Electoral Officer said that visually impaired voters and PwD voters who are unable to cast their vote by pressing the machine button can bring a helper with them to cast their vote. The age of the helper should be 18 years or older. He said that PwD voters who are capable of casting their vote by pressing the EVM button can bring a helper along with them to the voting booth, but the helper cannot enter the voting booth.

The Chief Electoral Officer said that there are 2,00,41,353 registered voters in Haryana, including 1,06,34,532 males, 94,06,357 females, and 464 transgender voters. He called upon all the voters to celebrate the 'Chunav ka Parv, Desh ka Garv' by voting on May 25.

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National Education Policy will lead to all-round development of students, Prof. Somnath Sachdeva

Chandigarh, May 4 - A capacity-building program was organized at the University Senior Secondary Model School, Kurukshetra University based on the theme of National Education Policy-2020 on Saturday under the school's and CBSE's joint aegis. The program was inaugurated by the Vice Chancellor, Kurukshetra University, Prof. Somnath Sachdeva.

Speaking on this occasion, he said that the National Education Policy will certainly ensure all-round development of students. Students can take any subject according to their wish. For the first time in the country, a policy has been formulated to awaken the sense of Indianness, he said.

Prof. Somnath Sachdeva said that under this policy, students have to be educated in Indian languages along with Indian customs and culture and prepared to perform at the global level. The National Education Policy will provide equal opportunities to everyone to move forward and students will be able to become self-reliant, he said.

He said that students will be given higher education by identifying and enhancing their skills. Teachers will motivate the students.

School's Vice Chairperson, Prof. Sunita Dalal said that sixty teachers from across the state participated in the program organized in the school and various topics were discussed in five sessions. Principal, BR International Public School, Ms. Pooja Kamboj and Vice Principal, Army Public School Ambala, Dr. Gosha Liberhan also delivered a keynote in five sessions held during this seminar.