Keeping polling officials healthy and hydrated

April 21, 2014 01:23 am | Updated May 21, 2016 12:29 pm IST - CHENNAI:

April 24 is set to be a scorcher of a day. Going by the Indian Meteorological Department’s predictions for this week, the maximum temperature on polling day in the city will hover around 36 degree Celsius.

To ensure that the 13,000 plus polling officials who will be on duty in the city stay healthy and hydrated from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., the Election Commission, with the Chennai Corporation, has put in place a number of measures.

“Every polling booth will be provided with drinking water as well as packets of oral rehydration salts,” said chief electoral officer Praveen Kumar. Additionally, each booth will have a first-aid pack and 108 ambulances will be on standby in case they are needed, he said.

Dehydration is the primary concern and local health centres will be put on alert, Mr. Kumar said.

With the blazing heat and the long hours, staying hydrated will be vital. “The first sign of dehydration is thirst, followed by dizziness. Cramping in the legs could occur and in some cases, the person could develop severe giddiness and faint.

Drinking a lot of fluids is essential and intake of salt is also vital,” said S. Manjunath, a physician and former head of the general medicine department at Sri Ramachandra University.

Dr. Manjunath explained that elderly people and those on medication such as drugs for blood pressure were more vulnerable to heat strokes.

A senior Corporation official said the civic body would ensure that the premises of all polling booths were cleaned and all necessary facilities provided.

There will be a total of 3,337 polling booths in the three Lok Sabha constituencies in Chennai.

On Thursday, a 52-year-old polling officer in Miralkudi in Karnataka suffered a massive cardiac arrest at the polling station and passed away.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.