Over 30 NCC cadets from Pune’s Poonawalla school assist elderly persons at polling booths

As a pre-election awareness campaign, students of the school were also encouraged to take out cycle rallies and inspire people to vote for the nation.

2 min readPuneNov 20, 2024 09:20 PM IST

The 15-year-old NCC cadets on duty. Among the polling stations are Agharkar Prathmik Vidyalaya at 15th August Chowk, B T Shahani School at Bhawani Peth, Bholagiri Prathmik Vidyalaya at Somwar Peth, and others. (Express photo)

At 12.30 pm, Madiha Shaikh, Chaturai Kamble, Nandini Dambale, and Chetna Khopkar took a quick five-minute break from their 12-hour duty at the Ethel Gordon Training School polling station at Rasta Peth, Pune.

The 15-year-old students of Class IX enrolled under Dr Cyrus Poonawalla school and junior college’s National Cadet Corps (NCC) shared a tiffin of crisp shev before getting back to their positions to assist the aged and physically challenged persons at the booth on Wednesday.

“We have been selected by our school so that we can learn about the process of voting and also help the elderly persons at the polling booth. There are many who need wheelchairs and we also guide them to the booth-level officers,” said Shaikh who arrived as early as 6.30 am from Kondhwa to participate in this unique initiative.

“We are so happy and proud to be here. It is a great experience,” said Khopkar.

The girls are among 30 students selected by the school to collaborate with Samarth police station and assist senior citizens and the physically challenged at 7 polling stations, said Sachin Gaikwad, student coordinator at the school.

Among the polling stations are Agharkar Prathmik Vidyalaya at 15th August Chowk, B T Shahani School at Bhawani Peth, Bholagiri Prathmik Vidyalaya at Somwar Peth, and others.

Student awareness about voting key aim

Gaikwad, who also accompanied students at schools, said that their main aim was also to make students understand why this mammoth exercise of voting is taken up.

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“They are extremely comfortable and looked after by the police staff,” said Sunita Jain, principal, Dr Cyrus Poonawalla school and junior college. As a pre-election awareness campaign, students of the school were also encouraged to take out cycle rallies and inspire people to vote for the nation.

“The initiative has been encouraged by W D Sancheti, chairman of Camp Education Society,” she added.

“Majority of the students are from Class 8-10 who participated in election awareness rallies, essay writing, rangoli making, and drawing competitions,” Jain said.

Anuradha Mascarenhas

Anuradha Mascarenhas is a Senior Editor at The Indian Express, based in Pune. With a career spanning three decades, she is one of the most respected voices in Indian journalism regarding healthcare, science and environment and research developments. She also takes a keen interest in covering women's issues . Professional Background Education: A gold medalist in Communication and Journalism from Savitribai Phule Pune University and a Master’s degree in Literature. Author: She authored the biography At The Wheel Of Research, which chronicles the life and work of Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, the former Chief Scientist at the WHO. Key Focus: She combines scientific accuracy with storytelling, translating complex medical research into compelling public and human-interest narratives. Awards and Recognition Anuradha has won several awards including the Press Council of India's national award for excellence in journalism under the gender based reporting category in 2019 and the Laadli Media award (gender sensitivity -2024). A recipient of the Lokmat journalism award (gender category-2022), she was also shortlisted for the RedInk awards for excellence in journalism-2021. Her debut book At The Wheel Of Research, an exclusive biography of Dr Soumya Swaminathan the inaugural chief scientist of World Health Organisation was also nominated in the Popular Choice Category of JK Paper AUTHER awards. She has also secured competitive fellowships including the Laadli Media Fellowship (2022), the Survivors Against TB – New Research in TB Media Fellowship (2023) and is part of the prestigious 2025 India Cohort of the WomenLift Health Leadership Journey.” Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) 1. Cancer & Specialized Medical Care "Tata Memorial finds way to kill drug-resistant cancer cells" (Nov 26, 2025): Reporting on a breakthrough for triple-negative breast cancer, one of the most aggressive forms of the disease. Discipline, diet and purpose; How a 97-year-old professor defies ageing'' (Nov 15, 2025) Report about Prof Gururaj Mutalik, the first Head of Department at Pune's B J Government Medical College who at 97 credits his longevity to healthy habits and a strong sense of purpose. 2. Environmental Health (The "Breathless Pune" Series) Long-term exposure even to 'moderate' air leads to chronic heart, lung, kidney issues" (Nov 26, 2025): Part of an investigative series highlighting that even "safe" pollution levels are damaging to vital organs. "For every 10 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 level, there was 6-8% jump in medicine sales" (Nov 23, 2025): Using commercial data to prove the direct link between air quality and respiratory illnesses in Pune. 3. Lifestyle & Wellness News "They didn't let cancer, diabetes and heart disease stop them from travelling" (Dec 22, 2025): A collaborative piece featuring survivors who share practical tips for traveling with chronic conditions. At 17, his BP shot up to 200/120 mmHG; Lancet study flags why child and teen hypertension doubled between 2000 and 2020'' (Nov 12,2025)--A report that focusses on 17-year-old-boy's hypertensive crisis and reflects the rising global trend of high blood pressure among children and adolescents. 4. Scientific Recognition & Infrastructure For promoting sci-comm, gender diversity: IUCAA woman prof highlighted in Nature" (Nov 25, 2025): Covering the global recognition of Indian women scientists in gender studies and physics. Pune researchers find a spiral galaxy like the Milky Way from early universe'' (December 3, 2025)- A report on how Indian researchers discovered a massive galaxy that existed when the universe was just 1.5 billion years old , one of the earliest to have been observed so far. Signature Beat: Health, Science & Women in Leadership Anuradha is known for her COVID-19 reportage, where she was one of the first journalists to provide detailed insights into the Covishield and Covaxin trials. She has a dedicated interest in gender diversity in health and science, often profiling women researchers who are breaking the "leaky pipeline" in STEM fields. Her writing style is scrupulous, often featuring interviews with top-tier scientists and health experts from various institutions. ... Read More

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