Gopeshwar, With Badrinath assembly polls scheduled for July 10 and heavy rains leading to landslides at several places, Chamoli district administration is taking foolproof measures to safely transport polling staff, EVMs and VVPAT to polling stations.
While the Border Roads Organization and the National Highways Authority of India are busy reopening roads blocked by landslides, a contingency plan for emergency situations is being prepared, said Chamoli district magistrate and return officer , Himanshu Khurana.
The biggest challenge is getting election staff to the polling station on time, he added.
According to authorities, 41 roads remain blocked by debris from the landslide.
Khurana held a meeting of nodal officials for the elections and directed them to keep a plan B ready to deal with any emergency, an official statement said.
Officials have been asked to identify potentially sensitive sites where landslides may occur and deploy an adequate number of workers and excavators there. Additional vehicles will also be parked at these sites for safe movement of electoral parties, he said.
In addition to the installation of GPS devices in vehicles carrying out electoral duties, instructions have been issued to mark alternative routes to deal with unavoidable situations and keep pedestrian routes to polling stations accessible, he added, and raincoats will be provided to polling staff. and security forces.
The electoral parties will leave on Monday for 17 remote polling stations and rest for a day before the elections are held on Wednesday, he said.
Several of these parties will have to travel more than 100 kilometers by road to reach the polling stations, according to the statement.
Badrinath Assembly constituency is prone to natural disasters and holding by-elections there may be a challenge for the local administration, officials said.
The constituency extends from Mana village in Badrinath and Niti village in the Niti valley to Dronagiri village situated at an altitude of 12,000 feet. There are a total of 210 polling stations.
While the Border Roads Organization and the National Highways Authority of India are busy reopening roads blocked by landslides, a contingency plan for emergency situations is being prepared, said Chamoli district magistrate and return officer , Himanshu Khurana.
The biggest challenge is getting election staff to the polling station on time, he added.
According to authorities, 41 roads remain blocked by debris from the landslide.
Khurana held a meeting of nodal officials for the elections and directed them to keep a plan B ready to deal with any emergency, an official statement said.
Officials have been asked to identify potentially sensitive sites where landslides may occur and deploy an adequate number of workers and excavators there. Additional vehicles will also be parked at these sites for safe movement of electoral parties, he said.
In addition to the installation of GPS devices in vehicles carrying out electoral duties, instructions have been issued to mark alternative routes to deal with unavoidable situations and keep pedestrian routes to polling stations accessible, he added, and raincoats will be provided to polling staff. and security forces.
The electoral parties will leave on Monday for 17 remote polling stations and rest for a day before the elections are held on Wednesday, he said.
Several of these parties will have to travel more than 100 kilometers by road to reach the polling stations, according to the statement.
Badrinath Assembly constituency is prone to natural disasters and holding by-elections there may be a challenge for the local administration, officials said.
The constituency extends from Mana village in Badrinath and Niti village in the Niti valley to Dronagiri village situated at an altitude of 12,000 feet. There are a total of 210 polling stations.
