2,056 employees on duty at 410 booths in P’kula, Kalka

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, October 20 

As many as 2,056 employees will be involved in the voting process at 410 polling stations in both Kalka and Panchkula Assembly segments tomorrow. They left for their respective polling stations with EVMs and VVPAT machines this evening.

District Election Officer and Deputy Commissioner Mukesh Kumar Ahuja today said the District Administration had made proper security arrangements to ensure the elections were conducted independently and fairly. It has been ensured by the administration that no candidate or political party can compel voters to vote in their favour by any temptation or intimidation. He said police forces carried out flag marches in sensitive areas across the district.

He said both returning officers for the Kalka-01 and Panchkula-02 Assembly constituencies of the district today conducted the final rehearsal of the polling parties. Master trainers also provided EVM hands-on training to the polling parties. 

Sushil Kumar, returning officer (RO), Panchkula, said the polling parties of Panchkula had left with the goods from Government PG College, Sector 1, he said.

He said voting should start at 7 am after the mock poll and continue till 6 pm. Separate lines of women and men should be set up outside the polling stations and after one man, two women should be sent to cast their votes. After the polling process is over, all parties would sit in the scheduled 116 vehicles and return to the same place from where they had got the election material, Kumar said.

The Deputy Commissioner of Police said five blocks each had been set up by the police in both constituencies. The district police were constantly in touch with the police of Punjab, Chandigarh and Himachal Pradesh. All vehicles passing through here were being investigated at these nakas and suspicious activities are also being monitored, he added.

Pink polling stations to encourage women voters

Panchkula: In a first, one pink booth has been set up in each of the two Assembly segments of Panchkula and Kalka, the polling for which is scheduled to be held on Monday.  

Such booths will have only women staff, including presiding officers, polling officers, micro observers and security personnel. 

A pink booth has been set up at Government Senior Secondary School in Sector 6, Panchkula, while another such booth has been set up at Amravati High School in Pinjore block of Kalka. However, the security staff at these booths will include male officials.

Mukesh Kumar Ahuja, Deputy Commissioner-cum-district election officer, said the aim was to encourage women participation in the polling process, he said.

However, representatives of the political parties feigned ignorance about the same and said they were not aware of any such booth in the city. 

Senior Congress leader Ravinder Rawal said if the Election Commission had set up any such booth, it should have advertised the same to create awareness among the women voters. This would not only have increased the poll percentage, but had also strengthened the democratic process.