For Malavika Velayanikal, getting her voter ID card proved to be a wild goose chase, until...
For the first time in my adult life, I want to throw a party. No, I didn't hit the jackpot or win a double promotion. Instead, I got my Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) today (Saturday).
You might ask what is the big deal, after all the chief electoral officer of Karnataka, Anil Kumar Jha, had said earlier this month that as many as 14.79 lakh new voters had been enrolled across the state. I can't speak for the other 14,78,999 would-be voters, but my EPIC is the trophy of a hard-fought battle.
My pursuit of an EPIC started about a year ago. Impressed and suitably inspired by the huge ads on newspapers about the "successful" online registration drive at http://voterreg.kar.nic.in/, I registered on May 29, 2012, and pulled in a couple of reluctant colleagues too. We were happy to track the application online.
When the application status stubbornly stayed at "Field Verification On" even after three months, I called the helpline, countless times. Once I got lucky and heard an irked lady tell me to wait longer. After waiting for another six months, I went to the BBMP office off Queen's Road to inquire after my illusive card.
The officers, of course, had better things to do than answer queries about a missing EPIC.
I was persistent and a relatively kind officer broke off from a heated discussion on Bangalore real estate and told me to ask at my ward office.
Next morning at 10.30 am, I was at the Jayamahal ward office. Except a lazy dog lounging at the doorstep and children playing, there was no sign of any official. Next day, I got there about noon, and the office was abuzz with people waving forms and rushing about. Finally, one officer looked at the application acknowledgment slip I had with me, and told me to come after noon. I did and so, got to search through a plastic bag full of EPICs tied into neat little bundles. Mine wasn't there.
Seeing my dejected face, the officer decided to help me reapply. He typed in all my details into his computer and told me that the card would be ready in a month's time. I was at the ward office a month later but the card wasn't.
I checked again after a week. This time, I insisted that they check their files. They found my name on the electoral rolls but no EPIC. I was told to head to the Queen's Road office and reapply. I did. Two days ago, my rounds to the ward office began again. With the polls nearing, the officers were either too busy or the one concerned wasn't present.
Finally, today I lost patience, took out my Press card and told them that I was going to write about this. That caught their ear. Out came a litany of complaints about how short-staffed they are, working without breaks, and with them, my EPIC. Now tell me, shouldn't I celebrate?
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