Corporate houses join hands to increase vote percentage

Jamshedpur : Corporate houses of the steel city have joined hands with the district administration to insure increase in vote percentage to the Jamshedpur Lok Sabha constituency on April 17. Taking the lead Tata Steel has launched a drive creating awareness amongst the voters. The steel major has put up hoardings featuring its managing director T V Narendran making an appeal to the voters. During a recent meet also the MD made an appeal through media that people should come out to exercise their franchise.

Ashish Mathur managing director, JUSCO, said that Jamshedpur has always figured as one of the best cosmopolitan city in India to live in with an educated population. In the last general elections held in 2009, the voting poll percentage of Jamshedpur (East) was only 44 per cent and Jamshedpur (West) was only 38 per cent. This gives a very poor picture of the voting exercise of the citizens of Jamshedpur.

Jamshedpur boasts of very high educational standards with 183 schools, 13 col- leges including the likes of XLRI, MGM Medical College and NIT. The literacy rate is amongst the highest in the country with 87.50 per cent (male 92.15% and female 82.47%). With a population of over 13 Lakhs and one of the largest Urban Agglomerate in Eastern India, it is time for us to participate in the electoral process and become a Zimmedaar Nagrik of Jamshedpur. “Tata Group has also taken up an initiative to bring about awareness among women voters of India to rise and participate through the ‘Power of 49’. We, as citizens of Jamshedpur, should ensure that each and every, eligible to cast vote, should exercise this right. Today even when the remotest of villages have shown a sharp rise in the polling percentage then why not Jamshedpur,” he noted.

The Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI), a leading representative body of industries and traders, has also come out with hoardings to make people aware about the merit of voting in the democracy. The trade body also flagged off an awareness vehicle carrying messages on importance of voting.

“We have put up hoardings and have flagged off a vehicle moreover our members are also visiting in groups across the district to interact and create awareness on voting,” said Suresh Sonthalia, president, SCCI.