Srinagar: Polling arrangements for the first phase in the Srinagar district were finalized at an officers meeting held under the chairmanship of District Panchayat Election Officer (DPEO) Srinagar, Dr. Shahidd Iqbal Choudhary, held here at Banquet Hall Thursday.
The meeting was, among others, attended by the General Observer, all the Returning Officers and Nodal Officers besides police and civil officers associated with the election process in the district.
A threadbare discussion was held on the transpiration, parking and traffic plans, EVM and material dispatch, the status of strong-room, establishment of the control room, deployment of zonal and sectoral magistrates Covid- 19 screening besides status of ballot papers and ballot boxes, boarding lodging arrangements for polling staff and their stay.
The Returning Officer and Nodal Officers briefed the Election Observer and DPEO about the arrangements put in place for ensuring free, fair, ethical, transparent, and Covid safe DDC elections and Panchayat by-elections under the first phase scheduled for Nov 28, 2020.
Dr. Shahid urged upon the nodal officers and other concerned functionaries to make foolproof arrangements for holding free and fair polls. He asked the concerned officers to make adequate heating, lodging, and boarding arrangements for polling staff so that they do not face any difficulty in discharging their polling duties and during their stay. He asked the officers to complete all pending issues, if any remained, and go through and follow the guidelines of Election Authority while discharging their election-related duties.
The election Observer while speaking on the occasion said holding of election is teamwork and asked all the concerned officials to work in a coordinated manner so that everything will go as per the pre-devised plan. He asked them to ensure that adequate facilities are made available, including heating arrangements, at every polling station for the convenience of the polling staff and voters.
It is worthwhile to mention here that there are vacant 14 DDCs, 9 panchayat halqas, and 156 Panch constituencies for which the polling will be held in two phases viz November 28, 2020, and December 01, 2020.
