60 per cent people in rural area cast vote: NGO

Chennai, Aug 10 (UNI) Only 60 per cent of people in the rural areas cast their vote and actively participate in the democractic process, according to Dr Rajesh Tandon, President of Participatory Research in Asia (PRIA), a non-governmental welfare organisation.

Addressing newspersons here, Dr Tandon said PRIA established in 1982 to empower the rural folk particularly women, had so far succeeded in making them actively participate in the democratic process, mainly in village and panchayat elections.

''Only through awareness and intensive training at the grass root level, people in the villages are empowered for planning and implementing their own development'', he said.

Dr Tandon said the organisation would work in Tamil Nadu with the help of State Election Commission before the panchayat elections to increase the awareness among people about the importance of participating in the democractic process.

The organisation would seek assistance from institutions, students and other voluntary organisations like NSS to carry out its awareness programmes in every village.

He said PRIA intervenes directly at the local level in the six states of Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkand and Rajasthan.

With support from other organisations PRIA had extended its services to Bihar, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh, he added.

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