Arrangements in place for Telangana ULB polls

According to the SEC, no local meetings or gatherings would be allowed during the 72 hour silence period.

Hyderabad: The stage is set for elections to two municipal corporations and five municipalities in the State on Friday. The seven Urban Local Bodies going to polls include Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation and Khammam Municipal Corporation and the five municipalities of Siddipet, Achampet, Jadcherla, Nakrekal and Kothur.

Reports from the districts said elaborate arrangements had been made for the smooth conduct of the polls with all Covid-19 protocol in place. State Election Commissioner (SEC) C Parthasarathi on Thursday asked officials to follow the Covid-19 safety guidelines scrupulously.

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Since Telangana High Court is very particular about implementation of Covid-19 guidelines and prevent gatherings on the day of polling and counting, the State Election Commission issued instructions to officials to adhere to safety norms, he said during a teleconference with District Collectors, Police Commissioners and Superintendents of Police, District Medical and Health Officers and Municipal Commissioners on arrangements made for the ULBs polling and counting.

Amid Covid-19 pandemic, the Election Commission made arrangements to enable over 11.59 lakh voters, including 5.84 lakh women, to cast their votes in 1,539 polling booths in the ULB polls.

According to the SEC, no local meetings or gatherings would be allowed during the 72 hour silence period. Every person must be seen wearing a face mask on the day of polling and counting.

Every person entering and leaving the polling station must sanitise his or her hand. For this, sufficient sanitizers should be made available at any point of time. One responsible employee would be made in-charge at every location. Circles should be marked outside the polling stations for maintenance of queues duly following physical distance.

One police constable should be made responsible for this. The seating of polling agents and staff within polling stations must be as per physical distance norms. All the polling and police personnel on duty at polling stations should wear face masks, face shield, hand gloves throughout the poll process, he said.

For transport of polling and police personnel, adequate number of vehicles must be used. The seating should be 50 per cent of that vehicle’s capacity. For every municipality, one or two nodal health officers should be appointed to monitor the things.

Every polling station should have one or two health workers with medical kits. Big tents should be put up at every polling location arranging chairs duly following physical distance guidelines for seating of voters waiting for their turn to vote.

Hygienic food and drinking water should be provided to poll and police personnel on polling and counting day. To restrict the movement of people in groups on the day of polling, not more than four persons should be allowed together (except one family member).

If required Section 144 CRPC should be promulgated. Strong rooms must be spacious and to be sanitized in advance and five counting tables in each counting hall should be placed. There should not be more than 50 people in the counting hall at any time.

Counting agents/candidates must wear face mask throughout the counting process and sanitize their hands at regular intervals. They should be restricted to their tables only. Seating must be as per physical distancing norms.

Any person suffering with cold, cough and fever should not be allowed inside counting hall. Counting staff shall wear face mask, face shield, hand gloves compulsorily apart from sanitizing their hands regularly.

The counting centres should be disinfected before, during and after counting and PPE kits and hand gloves to be provided to needy counting staff. There should not be any victory rallies on the day of counting. Strictly two persons (candidate plus another person) should be allowed to meet Returning Officer to receive election certificate after completion of counting.

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