Hyderabad: Techies need alternative mode to exercise franchise says Sundeep Kumar Makthala

Gachibowli: Telangana Information Technology Association Global President Sundeep Kumar Makthala said that techies showed less inclination towards exercising their franchise in GHMC polls held on Tuesday.

Speaking to the media persons, Sundeep Makthala said that over 80 per cent of employees working in the IT sector stayed away from voting in the civic polls due to many reasons. He felt that there was an urgent need to address the concerns of the techies in order to help them take part in the democratic process and subsequently increase polling percentage in future elections.

Makthala said that some 5.82 lakh employees were working in Hyderabad's IT sector and a majority of them were now working from their homes in their home towns. Over 80 per cent were working from home due to Covid-19 restriction and were unable to cast their vote which led to a sharp decline in voting percentage, Makthala said.

Apart from this, Makthala said, another major reason for less voting among techies was that about 25 per cent of IT employees were from Hyderabad while the rest hailed from other States.

To address the issue of low turnout in polling, techies should be given the option of casting their vote online or through a postal ballot which will ensure a higher turnout of voters, he added.