Huzurabad bypoll: Covid protocol goes for a toss

Despite appeals by poll staff, voters ignore physical distancing norm in Huzurabad

Huzurabad: Though election authorities gave top priority to Covid protocol, voters were least bothered about it during the by-election for Huzurabad Assembly constituency held on Saturday. Despite repeated appeals by the polling authorities, electors were not maintaining physical distance while standing in queues to exercise their franchise.

In the wake of Covid pandemic, the Election Commission of India issued strict guidelines to follow during the time of polling. Based on the EC’s instructions, district polling authorities made arrangements by following Covid protocol. Besides drawing boxes to stand, sanitisers, face masks and hand gloves were also arranged at polling stations.

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Though the boxes were drawn for maintaining two-metre distance in front of polling stations to stand in queues to cast their votes, electors did not care about the boxes. Voters especially in rural areas were seen falling on each other before entering the polling stations. Such scenes were seen in Mamidalapalli, Challur, Veenavanka and a few other polling stations.

Though the polling authorities requested the voters to maintain physical distance and stand in the drawn boxes, the voters ignored the appeal, an assistant presiding officer in Veenavanka polling station told Telangana Today.

However, each and every voter was allowed into polling station premises after cleaning hands with sanitisers and checking temperature. ANMs gave masks to those who arrived at the polling station without a face mask.

Hand gloves were also provided to every voter before entering the polling booth. If a Covid positive patient uses an EVM to cast vote, the virus would attach to the voting machine. To avoid this and check the spread of virus, hand gloves were provided to the voters, said Kamala, an ANM discharging duty in Jammikunta.

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