Dhuri votes today, 50% booths hypersensitive

Sushil Goyal

Tribune News Service

Dhuri (Sangrur), April 10

With the prestige of both the main political parties, Akali Dal and Congress, at stake in the Dhuri constituency that goes to the polls tomorrow, the Election Commission has made unprecedented security arrangements to ensure the polling remains peaceful. About 1.52 lakh voters (80,561 male and 71,391 female) will decide the fate of the 12 candidates in the fray.

The byelection was necessitated after Congress MLA Arvind Khanna’s resignation from the Vidhan Sabha in January. Of the 103 polling stations (comprising 166 booths) set up in 75 villages and Dhuri town, 53 (over 50%) have been declared hypersensitive while the rest 50 had been put in sensitive category.

Sangrur SSP Mandeep Singh Sidhu today briefed the Punjab Police and paramilitary personnel who would be deployed for security. Sidhu said more than 1,800 police and paramilitary personnel would be on guard to ensure the polling was done in a free and fair manner.

He said five SPs, 11 DSPs, 17 SHOs and Inspectors, 136 Sub-Inspectors and ASIs, 1,017 constables and head constables, 254 women police personnel and over 400 paramilitary personnel had been deployed.

The constituency has been divided into three zones: City, Ranike and Bhalwan. An SP would be in charge of each zone, he said. As many as 766 government officials had been deployed for election duty at polling booths in the constituency. Besides, four static teams and as many flying squads have been deployed to ensure strict implementation of the code of conduct.