27,000 staff to attend poll duties

Kakinada: Nearly 27,000 staff of various departments will attend poll duty on April 11 in the district as part of conduct of general elections, said district Collector Kartikeya Misrha. Addressing the media here on Wednesday evening, the Collector said that the poll staff have been provided with required training to conduct polling. Besides, they were allotted constituencies. The allotment of polling stations in particular constituency will be held on April 10, a day before the polling, the Collector said.

He said that webcasting of polling in all polling stations will be done with the support of agency Bruhaspati identified by Election Commission (EC). This will be done by utilising 3,780 cameras and necessary support taken from BSNL to cover shadow areas in the agency. Continuous video recording of polling process will be done polling station-wise where the network facility not available, especially in agency areas in the district.

With regards to polling in agency areas, Collector said that a representation to EC was made to allow poll timings up to 4 pm instead of 5 pm. This representation was made in view of difficulty to access in interior agency areas. A decision will be taken based on the EC's consent, the Collector said.

The Collector also said that security aspects in conducting poll in agency areas was discussed with state DGP at Rajamahendravaram during his visit to district on Wednesday. Randomisation of EVMs, VVPATS and loading of symbols in the presence of representatives of political parties is nearing completion in all the constituencies in the district, Kartikeya Mishra added.