Gadwal tops among Palamuru districts with 79% voting

Mahbubnagar: With the first phase of MPTC and ZPTC elections held in a peaceful environment on Monday, among all the districts in the erstwhile Mahbubnagar, Gadwal district has registered 79.63 per cent which is highest among the other districts.

After 5 pm, when the elections were concluded, in almost all parts of the erstwhile Mahbubnagar, Gadwal registered a poll percentage of 79.63 followed by Nagarkurnool with 75 per cent and Mahbubnagar 74 per cent.

Overall, the ZPTC and MPTC elections were held peacefully and were concluded without any kind of violence. In all the five districts i.e., Mahbubnagar, Gadwal, Wanaparthy, Nagarkurnool and Narayanpet, elections were held for 20 ZPTC and 265 MPTC seats.

Fearing the hot sun, most of the people casted their vote in the early hours and in the evening hours. The polling percentage surged during morning and later in the evening.

In Gadwal district, all the four mandals which went for first phase of local body elections witnessed highest polling percentages with Gadwal recording the highest of 79.63, followed by Dharur with 77.89 per cent, KT Doddi with 77.88 and Gattu mandal with 76.59.

In Narayanpet, elections were held in three mandals of Kosgi Kodangal and Maddur and the poling per cent registered was 62.5 per cent.

In Wanaparthy district, the polling was held in a peaceful with the district recording poll percentage of 71.18.

In Mahbubnagar district, the elections were held for only ZPTC in Jadcherla and it recorded 61 per cent, while the elections in Balanagar, Rajapur, Midjil and Nawabpet recorded on an average of 77 per cent.

Overall, the first phases of elections were held in a peaceful environment and it witnessed a good turnout of people in spite of scorching heat.

Cops tighten security arrangements

As part of the security arrangements for the first phase of ZPTC and MPTC elections, the police in Wanaparthy district has made tight security arrangements and ensured that no untoward incident takes place in the erstwhile Mahbubnagar district on Monday.

In Mahbubnagar, Superintendent of Police Rema Rajeshwari visited all the major polling centres identified as sensitive and supervised the security arrangements and examined the polling process.

She also extensively discussed the security arrangements with the local police officials and gave them suggestions so that a fool proof security system could be arranged to ensure no violent incidents take place.

"Unlike the urban body elections, the ZPTC and MPTC elections are more localised and there is a chance of people getting polarised and resort to violence. We had already identified some sensitive polling stations and accordingly, tightened the security to ensure smooth, fair and peaceful elections," informed Rema Rajeshwari.

Not just ensuring that the elections are conducted in a fare and peaceful manner, the Mahbubnagar police have also ensured that they set up a strong bandobust with armed forces with continuous patrolling giving no scope for violence.

In Wanaparthy, district SP Apurva Rao has also ensured that there was not scope for any kind of lacuna in the security arrangements during the polling. She visited the Chityala village near Wanaparthy rural police station and supervised the security arrangements and directed the local police to ensure a fool proof security and give no scope for violence during the first phase of elections.