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Punjab assembly elections: Covid protocols factored in at Ludhiana’s polling stations, but goof ups seen too
Disposable gloves, sanitisers and masks became a feature of the electoral process for the Punjab assembly polls, as Covid protocol was largely followed at all polling stations in Ludhiana
Not just the hallmark inked finger, but disposable gloves, sanitisers and masks were also an indispensible feature of the electoral process for the Punjab assembly polls, which were conducted in the shadow of the third wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
From ensuring social distancing, to distributing face masks, disposable gloves and sanitisers to the voters, the Election Commission and district administration tried to provide a safe voting experience to the electorate. Before entering the polling centre, voters were stopped, offered a face mask, given sanitiser and their temperature was checked .
However, goof ups were also seen at several places, where protocols were disregarded. For instance, despite the ECI’s instructions heavy rush was seen outside the polling booths of different political parties, and several people showed up sans masks.
Later in the day biomedical waste – personal protective equipment kits, disposable gloves, masks and sanitiser bottles — was seen scattered outside polling booths, and no arrangements had been made for its disposal.
Left to grapple with mounds of biomedical waste in addition to their regular duties, polling station employees seemed to be at the end of their tethers. The situation was exacerbated after the biomedical waste was not collected till 9pm, and the female staff, who had been entrusted with ensuring its disposal were stuck at the booths.
“Why did the health department not shoulder the responsibility of distributing masks, gloves, and sanitisers and ensuring the safe collection of biomedical waste? Asking government employees on poll duty to do the same is gross wastage of resources and manpower,” a teacher deputed at a poll station said.
Much ado over waste
Meanwhile, a fight also broke out in Khanna between polling staff and collection employees due to the delay in the collection of waste. At many places polling staff locked the biomedical waste in the polling station, while the collection team kept waiting for the staff to arrive and open the polling centre.
In some places it was found that pick-up trucks had either not been hired or the ones hired were too small. Notably, each dustbin in which biomedical waste was kept cost ₹600.
District commissioner-cum-district election officer (DEO) Varinder Sharma said, “Our first priority was the safety of electronic voting machines (EVMs). Biomedical waste is being collected and the process will be completed in due course of time,” said Sharma.
Covid patients get a turn
To ensure that Covid patients do not miss out on voting, the local administration requested infected voters to cast their vote in the final hour of polling, 5pm to 6pm, while the staff at the polling stations donned PPE.
“Though no Covid patient turned up to vote, we were provided with PPE kits which the staff wore in the last hour. General people could also vote at the time, but Covid patients had been specifically asked to exercise their franchise in the last hour”, said a senior officer at a polling station.
