Thrikkakara bypoll | Student Police Cadets enjoy first polling booth experience

With the Thrikkakara bypoll under way in Kochi, Student Police Cadets get a taste of the election season as they assisted at polling booths for the first time since the start of the pandemic

As an elderly woman struggled to climb up the ramp leading to the polling booth at the Fathima Matha Parish Hall in Elamkulam, three young Student Police Cadets (SPCs) rushed to her aid.

As she reached the entrance of the polling booth thanks to the support of the young girls in khaki uniforms, she wore a look of gratitude.

This was a recurring sight at all polling booths across the Thrikkakara Assembly constituency on Tuesday. About 135 SPCs were deployed across the 239 polling booths in the constituency to support the police in the smooth conduct of the polling. They were deployed at the booths nearest to their homes.

“This is our first such experience since joining SPC as the last two years were lost to COVID-19. We could not have been at a polling booth at this age if not for SPC,” said Mousumi Bar, a ninth standard student and one of the 7 SPCs from the Government Girls Higher Secondary School (GGHSS) deployed at two polling booths in Elamkulam and Kadavanthra.

A fellow SPC and her classmate Amruta Sree said that she had volunteered for the duty to enjoy the excitement of being part of an election.

“We had deployed 13 SPCs from our school. In fact, the response to our announcement seeking volunteers for deployment in polling booths was so overwhelming that the number of cadets expressing willingness for deployment far exceeded the requirement,” said Sanjay Kumar C., community police officer at GGHSS.

A little away at St. Raphael LP School, Palarivattom, Eby Manual Mithun, a tenth standard SPC from St. Albert’s Higher Secondary School, was sipping a chilled lemonade to beat the heat. For him, the deployment was but a perfect ruse to be away from home on the last day of vacation as schools were set to resume on Wednesday.