INDIA VOTES 2024: All 2,919 polling stations equipped with assured minimum facilities in Ludhiana district

Tribune News Service

Nitin Jain

Ludhiana, May 4

In what appears to be a step towards facilitating voters to ensure maximum voter turnout during the June 1 Lok Sabha elections, the district administration has equipped all 2,919 polling stations across 1,410 locations, spread across 14 Assembly segments falling under Ludhiana (9) and Fatehgarh Sahib (5) parliamentary constituencies, with assured minimum facilities (AMFs).

Facilities at a glance

Total polling stations 2,919

Polling stations with AMFs 2,919

Model polling stations 139

Exclusive Disabled stations 14

Exclusive women stations 14

Creche facility, ORS packs for polling employees

All these polling stations, including 1,460 at 515 locations in urban and 1,459 at 895 locations in rural areas, in Ludhiana district, have been equipped with ramps, drinking water, furniture, lighting and toilet facilities for voters and polling staffers.

Besides, the administration has developed 139 polling stations, including 10 each in 13 Vidhan Sabha segments and nine in the Ludhiana East Assembly constituency, as model polling stations.

Best arrangements in place

Our endeavour is to put in place the best arrangements for voters and polling staff. Special emphasis will be laid on differently abled, women and aged electors while special care and facilities will be given to women employees, especially single and young mothers, put on election duty. — Sakshi Sawhney, DC-cum-DEO

Moreover, one polling station in each of the 14 Assembly segments in the district, have been exclusively earmarked for differently abled and women electorates.

The brainchild of Deputy Commissioner-cum-District Electoral Officer (DEO) Sakshi Sawhney, the initiative was aimed at ensuring over 70 per cent polling, the target given by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to the election machinery across the country.

Sakshi told The Tribune here on Saturday that besides providing the basic amenities to equip all polling stations with the AMFs, the district administration had developed 139 polling stations as model ones by providing special facilities and making best arrangements for the electorates and polling staff.

“To provide best possible arrangements for them, one polling station in each Assembly constituency is being identified to be dedicated exclusively to the differently abled and women voters,” she said, adding that the identification of such locations was being made keeping in mind the maximum number of such voters in specific areas of each Vidhan Sabha segment.

Divulging arrangements for the General Election to the 18th Lok Sabha, slated here on June 1, the DC-cum-DEO said the district had already received 7,529 ballot units (BUs), 4,405 control units (CUs), and 4,677 voter verifiable paper audit trails (VVPATs) to conduct polling at 2,921 polling stations, including two auxiliary ones, across the 14 Assembly segments falling under Ludhiana and Fatehgarh Sahib Lok Sabha seats.

Besides, 226 BUs, 462 CUs and 442 VVPATs have been made available in the district as buffer stock to be used in case of any exigency. “Sufficient quantity of polling materials such as paper seals and address tags had also been procured for the district at the CEO level and will be supplied in due course from the election store in Patiala,” she said.

The DC disclosed that sufficient manpower had also been made available in the district to ensure smooth and transparent conduct of the polling exercise.

Besides regular employees from various government departments, as many as 1,785 other employees, including 1,106 contractual, 192 guest faculty, 86 ad-hoc, 235 special cadre, 134 outsourced, 28 part-time and three temporary workers had also been put on the election duty in the district.

While 238 sector officers had been appointed across 14 Assembly constituencies, 3,503 each presiding officers (PROs) and assistant presiding officers (APROs), to be deputed at one each for one polling station and 20 per cent reserve staff, and 7,006 polling officers (POs) with two each at one polling station and 20 per cent reserve quota, will be deployed for the polling exercise in the district.

“To facilitate polling staffers and ensure their proper welfare during duty hours, we have arranged crèche facilities for toddlers of single mothers and adequate quantity of ORS packs have been procured to provide them to counter the extreme heat wave forecast by weathermen around the polling and counting days,” the DC-cum-DEO added.

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