The district administration is fully geared up to ensure free and fair Lok Sabha polls on April 18.
Speaking to reporters here on Tuesday, Collector Shilpa Prabhakar Satish said applications were received during the recently held special camps on February 23 and 24 for additions and deletions.
As on January 31, the district has 25,37,683 voters including 12,48,485 men, 12,89,108 women and 90 other voters who would cast their votes in 2,979 booths including 32 critical and 496 vulnerable booths at 1,382 locations. A total of 8,327 ballot units, 4,465 control units and 4,543 VVPATs have been kept ready after first-level checking.
As voters with disabilities and their polling stations have been identified, wheel chairs will be kept ready to ensure their easy access to the booth. Officials have been instructed to ensure ramp, adequate drinking water, power supply, toilet facilities in all polling stations.
Ms. Shilpa urged the voters to use the mobile app ‘cVigil’ through which citizens and political party cadre can upload poll code violations, if any, along with photographs and two-minute-long videos to substantiate their charges. “This will become operational from March 19 onwards.”
Besides registering poll-related complaints in toll-free 1950, citizens can get their poll-related doubts clarified. A 24 x 7 election control room will be established in the Collectorate shortly where election-related complaints will be received and forwarded to the officials concerned for intervention.
She said that Election Commission’s software ‘Suvidha,’ ‘Sugam’ and ‘Samadhan,’ all meant for getting online permission to organise public meetings, campaign vehicles and registration of complaints would be used.
To check poll code violations including distribution of cash or gifts to voters, three flying squads and three static surveillance teams would be deployed in each Assembly constituency and each team would work in eight-hour shift round-the-clock till the end of election process.
A video surveillance team deployed in each Assembly segment would monitor public meetings and poll expenditure. While statues of political leaders would be covered, banners and poll graffiti removed by the officials.
All-out efforts would be taken during the run-up to elections by involving all departments to hold awareness programmes across the district, particularly in colleges to encourage the first-time voters to exercise their franchise without fail.
“Special camps are to be organised in Kaani Tribal hamlets in the Western Ghats to create awareness on VVPATs,” she said.
