Election parties dispatched for polling stations across Srinagar PC
Srinagar, May 12 :
The stage is set for the prestigious Srinagar Parliamentary constituency which goes to polls on Monday amid unprecedented security arrangements put in place.
A total of 17,47,810 lakh voters including 8,75,938 male and 8,71,808 female voters besides 64 third gender electorates are eligible to exercise their franchise at 2,135 polling stations across the five districts of Srinagar, Pulwama, Budgam, Ganderbal, and Shopian.
There are around 11682 Persons with Disability and 705 persons above the age of 100 years who will also be exercising their franchise, read a communiqué received from the office of Chief Electoral Officer, J&K.
A total of 24 candidates are in the fray and among them the prominent ones are National Conference Candidate Aga Syed Rohulla Mehdi, Peoples Democratic Party youth leader Waheed-Ur-Rehman Parra, and Apni Party’s Ashraf Mir who are contesting from the Srinagar parliamentary seat.
The seat is dominated by the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference party, which has won 10 out of the 13 Lok Sabha elections. The only national party to ever win the Lok Sabha elections in Srinagar is Congress, which emerged victorious in the 1996 elections. The election staff including
Amid unprecedented
Presiding Officers has been stationed in every polling station. In total, more than 8,500 polling staff, including reserves, will be deployed on duty on the polling day.
The voting will take place from 7.00 AM to 6.00 PM and before that, there will be a mock poll in the polling stations in the presence of the polling agents. Also, the voting will continue even after 6.00 PM, if the voter’s queue is still there in the Polling Station premises to exercise their right to vote.
There will be 20 polling booths managed by women (also called as pink polling stations), 18 polling booths manned by specially-abled persons, and 17 by youths.
All polling stations in phase 4 will have CCTV cameras for live webcasting to the control rooms established at the District and CEO offices. Few polling stations fall in communication shadow areas. Suitable alternate arrangements by providing Satellite Phones, Wireless sets, and Special Runners have been put in place around a few polling stations that fall in communication shadow areas.
A three-tier security arrangement has been formulated outside every polling station to prevent any attempt to sabotage the polling process.
The security forces will be also manning the roads and bylanes leading to the polling station to scuttle any mischievous attempt by the anti-national elements.
Inspector General of Police (Kashmir Zone) V K Birdhi said that all security measures for the smooth conduct of the Lok Sabha elections for Srinagar Parliamentary constituency scheduled for tomorrow have already been completed.
“We have already formulated a comprehensive security arrangement for the polling stations, locations, distribution centres and strong rooms under the prescribed security guidelines of ECI for the Srinagar Parliamentary Constituency”, Birdhi told media in Srinagar on Sunday.
He said “A safe and secure environment has been established for the people so that they can come out to poll their franchise in a big way”.
He also highlighted the deployment of paramilitary forces, checkpoints, as well as Special Security District (SSD) and Field Security District (FSD) personnel.
Meanwhile, the polling staff along with Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and other poll materials were dispatched to their concerned polling stations under adequate security arrangements on Sunday.
The election parties were dispatched today for the polling stations established for the Srinagar Parliamentary Constituency under the overall supervision of Chief Election Office, Pandurang K Pole.
The polling parties, along with EVMS, were sent to all the 18 centres set up across 5 districts of Srinagar, Shopian, Pulwama, Budgam, and Ganderbal going to polls in the fourth phase of ongoing Lok Sabha Polls tomorrow on 13th May, informed an election official.
The polling for the fourth phase will be held across 2,135 polling stations in 1,323 locations. Around 2700 vehicles have been deployed by the administration for successful and smooth conduct of these elections.
Speaking on the welfare provisions in place for the polling parties, the CEO said, “the district administrations have been directed to ensure all requisite arrangements in place for the polling parties besides special Nodal officers have been appointed across the districts to take care of welfare of these election officials.”
The polling in the Srinagar PC shall be held from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. and shall continue till the last voter cast his ballot.
A total of 17,47,810 voters are eligible to cast their vote. All the polling stations in the parliamentary constituency will have CCTV type cameras for live webcasting. The Polling shall be viewed live from the district headquarters as well as from the Central Command Centers established at Jammu and Srinagar.
The Chief Electoral Officer has appealed the eligible electorates to participate in the festival of democracy by utilizing their right to vote for which the election authorities and the local administrations have put in place all necessary arrangements.
In a significant stride towards ensuring the smooth conduct of the Lok Sabha Elections 2024, election teams have been successfully deployed to all 260 polling stations across Ganderbal, part of Srinagar Parliamentary Constituency, going to polls on 13 May, 2024.
Under the meticulous supervision of the District Election Officer (DEO) Ganderbal, Shyambir, the process of dispatching of Poll Parties from two Dispatch cum Receipt Centres (DCRCs) established at Degree College Ganderbal for 18-Ganderbal Assembly Constituency and PTS Manigam for 17-Kangan Assembly Constituency was conducted successfully.
The district has 260 polling stations including 155 in Ganderbal Assembly Constituency and 105 in Kangan Assembly Constituency.
Comprehensive arrangements were made for departure of polling parties, encompassing vehicles, seating arrangements, refreshments, and security measures.
The District Election Officer, accompanied by SSP Sandeep Gupta, conducted visits to both the centers. They interacted with polling parties, urging them to adhere to Election Commission guidelines diligently and execute their assigned tasks with dedication and integrity.
The deployment of polling parties marks a crucial step in the electoral process, ensuring that democratic exercise proceeds smoothly and efficiently.
Pertinently, district administration has established special polling stations on identified locations across district to cater to a wide range of needs of individuals with disabilities, elderly citizens, women, which offer tailored services ensuring that every eligible voter has the opportunity to exercise their fundamental right to vote in a manner that is convenient and accessible to them.
