The Patna district administration has decided to launch a helpline for voters whose names are missing from the electoral roll.

It also decided to involve small screen actor Ratan Rajput, the brand ambassador of Bihar State Election Commission, in the near future.

District magistrate N. Saravana Kumar said this on the sidelines of his weekly janata durbar. “Very soon, we are going to launch the helpline number for those voters whose names are missing from the electoral roll. After making calls to the helpline, the district administration would take up the case and do the necessary formalities. The helpline would also be used for making the identity card,” he said.

About the process, Kumar added: “Once the voter makes a call, it would be the duty of the booth-level officer (BLO) to visit the voter’s house to check the authenticity of the caller before he proceed further for the necessary requirements.”

About the reason behind such an initiative, he said: “We already have several steps to enrol the name in the electoral roll like online and SMS. However, there are people who are not much familiar with the Net and SMS facilities. Precisely, this is the reason why we have decided to launch the helpline on which people can call and register their name.”

“We will take disciplinary action against BLOs if someone feels harassed for not enabling to enrol his/her name,” said Kumar.

He also stressed upon making awareness among voters regarding effective participation in the electoral process. Kumar said he had called Ratan Rajput to take part in the National Voters Day, which would be observed at planetarium on January 25. National Voters’ Day is celebrated on January 25 — a practice that was initiated in 2011 to commemorate the foundation day of the Election Commission.