Indelible ink in demand ahead of LS Polls

Mysore, Mar 14: A company in Mysore, is working overtime, ahead of the general elections, to manufacture the indelible ink used to dye the tip of each voter's finger to prevent repeat voting.

The company named Mysore paints and Varnish Limited was established in 1935 with the sole aim of preparing lacquer for government and other documents. But in 1972, the company established indelible ink unit used for the sole purpose of elections.

Ravi Shankar, Chairman, Mysore Paints and Varnish Limited said that their company was the pioneer in India, to manufacture indelible ink.

"We are the pioneers in India which manufacture indelible ink. For these Lok Sabha elections, we are preparing two million bottles of indelible ink each of which contain ten millilitre of ink for the purpose of the elections," said Shankar.

The quantum of ink for delivery in each phial has doubled to ten millilitre as the poll panel had changed the ink marking rule in 2006 on a voter's finger from a dot to a line that runs from top of the nail to the bottom of first joint.

The indelible ink, a mix of chemicals, dyes, aromatic material and silver nitrate, is a singular commodity that is exclusively used in state-run elections from local bodies to the Parliament.

About hundred employees work in two shifts a day to manufacture the ink.

The semi-automatic process involves mixing, filling, plugging, capping, labelling and packing under strict supervision and tight security.

When the plant is busy producing the ink for election, other activities remain suspended till the last consignment of bottles are dispatched.

The Mysore paints and Varnish Limited also supplies voter ink to countries like Canada, Cambodia, the Maldives, Nepal, Nigeria, South Africa and Turkey.

ANI