Ludhiana: Security up at over 200 sensitive polling booths

As many as 1,408 polling booths have been set up in 784 villages. As many as 38 booths are hyper-sensitive and 177 are said to be sensitive, according to the district administration.

Elaborate security arrangements have been made at 38 hyper-sensitive and 177 sensitive polling booths for the panchayat polls, the district administration stated on Monday.

According to the deputy commissioner adequate security arrangements have been made at the polling booths to ensure that elections are conducted in a smooth, hassle-free, and peaceful manner.

As many as 12,37,341 voters will exercise their right to franchise at 1,408 polling booths in 784 villages of the district to elect the sarpanches and panches on Tuesday. District election officer-cum-deputy commissioner Jitendra Jorwal oversaw the dispatch of polling parties from different centres in SRS Polytechnic College, SCD Government College.

There are 941 village panchayats in Ludhiana, out of which 157 panchayats have been elected unanimously and voting will be held in the remaining 784 villages. Out of the 12.37 lakh voters, 6.5 lakh are male, 5.8 lakh female and 21 belong to the third gender.

The voting will be held from 8 am till 4 pm on Tuesday and counting of votes will be held the same day after the end of polling. Around 7,040 civil employees have been assigned duties for conducting the poll in a free, fair and transparent manner. “The district administration is duty-bound to hold these polls peacefully and in a transparent manner so that people can exercise their franchise freely,” said DC Jorwal.

According to the deputy commissioner adequate security arrangements have been made at the polling booths to ensure that elections are conducted in a smooth, hassle-free, and peaceful manner. Jorwal urged the voters to take part in the polling exercise to strengthen the democracy at the grassroot level.