All arrangements were made for the first phase of elections to MPTCs and ZPTCs all over the State on Sunday, State Election Commissioner Ramakanth Reddy has said.
Addressing the media at his Buddha Bhavan Chambers here on Saturday, the SEC said electors can exercise their franchise from 7 am to 5 pm in all the polling stations, while at Manthani in Karimnagar district, voting will be allowed up to 4 pm only. He also regretted that school examinations, scheduled to be held on April 10 and 11 are getting postponed due to the elections. “The students should forgive us for postponement of examination”, Ramakanth Reddy said. The Election Commission will watch the entire process of polling through Webcasting, he said. While Rose color ballots would be used for MPTC elections, white color ballots will be used for ZPTC elections and each voter will get two voter sheets, Ramakanth Reddy said.
He also said the village panchayats, MPTC and ZPTC and State government offices are likely to benefit through the elections as about Rs 2,500 crores of Central funds will reach these places after the elections. The Election Commission pressed adequate staff into service for polling duty with 1.50 lakh Electronic Voting Machines are ready for use. As many as 95,031 policemen are deployed for smooth and fair conduct of elections, he said. “We are keeping tight vigil at 6,379 problematic and 6,412 more problematic places”, the State Election Commissioner said. (NSS)
