Chandigarh, A team of senior officials from the Election Commission of India met senior officials from Haryana on Thursday to review action taken as per instructions issued to authorities involved in the election process during their visit to the state last month.
The meeting was held with Divisional Commissioners, Inspector General of Police, Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police, General Observers and Police Observers of 11 districts.
Haryana will go to polls on October 5.
According to an official statement, the team comprised Deputy Election Commissioner Hirdesh Kumar and other officials.
The meeting was held in the presence of Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal.
According to the statement, a team from the Election Commission of India led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had earlier in August conducted a review of the administrative, logistical, law and order and election-related arrangements with the electoral chief and state police. nodal officer.
The commission aimed to ensure the holding of free and fair elections by maintaining a good law and order situation, the statement said.
He had also insisted on maintaining the good health of the electoral roll by eliminating dead and displaced voters. It further directed to provide minimum assured facilities at polling booths along with conducive environment to encourage voter participation.
At Thursday's meeting, the Electoral Commission team emphasized the importance of ensuring that all polling stations are fully equipped with the necessary facilities.
The deputy election commissioner directed district commissioners and district election officers and superintendents of police to personally inspect polling stations to check availability of essential resources.
The Commission emphasized that voter facilitation booths should be set up by booth-level officials at each polling station. Adequate seating arrangements should be made to facilitate voters queuing.
The team cited the need to conduct webcasts from all polling stations.
To ensure better monitoring, high-resolution cameras should be used and placed to adequately cover polling stations for effective surveillance. At the same time, he affirms that the secrecy of the vote should not be compromised.
Police authorities reported on security measures to guarantee good public order.
The team expressed satisfaction over the deployment of central forces and other security arrangements. However, he highlighted immediate action for better surveillance of border areas in coordination with the police of neighboring states.
In another meeting with law enforcement agencies of Income Tax Department, State Police, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Directorate of Enforcement, Narcotics Control Bureau, Civil Aviation, Customs and other departments, the team noted that seizures have been less compared to the recent Lok Sabha Elections.
He emphasized reworking the strategy, controlling the operation of the different surveillance teams of the flying squads and the static surveillance teams.
The team also reviewed preparations related to counting centers, postal ballots and training of electoral staff.
Chief electoral officer Pankaj Agarwal said a centralized postal vote collection center would be set up in Karnal.
The Electoral Commission team reiterated that maximum efforts must be made at the local and state levels to improve voter participation in these elections.
He cited the recent good voter turnout in sensitive districts of Jammu and Kashmir and said Haryana should take inspiration from that.
At the end of the meeting, Hirdesh Kumar again emphasized that all possible efforts must be made to ensure free and fair elections.
The districts covered in the meeting included Panchkula, Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat, Kaithal, Jind, Fatehabad, Sirsa and Hisar.
The meeting was held with Divisional Commissioners, Inspector General of Police, Commissioners of Police, Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police, General Observers and Police Observers of 11 districts.
Haryana will go to polls on October 5.
According to an official statement, the team comprised Deputy Election Commissioner Hirdesh Kumar and other officials.
The meeting was held in the presence of Haryana Chief Electoral Officer Pankaj Agarwal.
According to the statement, a team from the Election Commission of India led by Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar had earlier in August conducted a review of the administrative, logistical, law and order and election-related arrangements with the electoral chief and state police. nodal officer.
The commission aimed to ensure the holding of free and fair elections by maintaining a good law and order situation, the statement said.
He had also insisted on maintaining the good health of the electoral roll by eliminating dead and displaced voters. It further directed to provide minimum assured facilities at polling booths along with conducive environment to encourage voter participation.
At Thursday's meeting, the Electoral Commission team emphasized the importance of ensuring that all polling stations are fully equipped with the necessary facilities.
The deputy election commissioner directed district commissioners and district election officers and superintendents of police to personally inspect polling stations to check availability of essential resources.
The Commission emphasized that voter facilitation booths should be set up by booth-level officials at each polling station. Adequate seating arrangements should be made to facilitate voters queuing.
The team cited the need to conduct webcasts from all polling stations.
To ensure better monitoring, high-resolution cameras should be used and placed to adequately cover polling stations for effective surveillance. At the same time, he affirms that the secrecy of the vote should not be compromised.
Police authorities reported on security measures to guarantee good public order.
The team expressed satisfaction over the deployment of central forces and other security arrangements. However, he highlighted immediate action for better surveillance of border areas in coordination with the police of neighboring states.
In another meeting with law enforcement agencies of Income Tax Department, State Police, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Directorate of Enforcement, Narcotics Control Bureau, Civil Aviation, Customs and other departments, the team noted that seizures have been less compared to the recent Lok Sabha Elections.
He emphasized reworking the strategy, controlling the operation of the different surveillance teams of the flying squads and the static surveillance teams.
The team also reviewed preparations related to counting centers, postal ballots and training of electoral staff.
Chief electoral officer Pankaj Agarwal said a centralized postal vote collection center would be set up in Karnal.
The Electoral Commission team reiterated that maximum efforts must be made at the local and state levels to improve voter participation in these elections.
He cited the recent good voter turnout in sensitive districts of Jammu and Kashmir and said Haryana should take inspiration from that.
At the end of the meeting, Hirdesh Kumar again emphasized that all possible efforts must be made to ensure free and fair elections.
The districts covered in the meeting included Panchkula, Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Panipat, Kaithal, Jind, Fatehabad, Sirsa and Hisar.
