A day ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, poll personnel were busy collecting electronic voting machines (EVMs), Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), ink and other polling material at the decentralised mustering centres in in Kalaburagi on Monday.
The mustering and de-mustering centres were arranged in three different places for Kalaburagi North, Kalaburagi South and Kalaburagi Rural constituencies. And, mustering centre of each taluk segment was arranged at the respective tahsil offices and government buildings.
As many as 11,486 polling employees, including presiding officers and assistant presiding officers, have been designated for polling duty in the 2,378 polling stations in the nine Assembly segments coming under Kalaburagi Lok Sabha Constituency.
Of the total 2,378 polling stations in the district, 705 polling stations are in the city and 1,673 in rural areas. As many as 493 polling stations have been identified as critical polling booths.
Besides the EVMs and VVPAT, each team of polling personnel has been provided with a wheel-chair and two water cans. Each booth will be manned by six polling staff, consisting of a presiding officer, an assistant presiding officer, two polling officers, a group D employee and a police constable.
As many as 872 transportation vehicles, including 255 KKRTC buses, 594 vans, 23 cabs and mini-buses, have been arranged for carrying the polling staff and material to their designated polling stations. These vehicles had lined up on the premises of the respective mustering centres.
As per the final electoral rolls, the district has 23,05,304 voters, including male 11,60,716, female 11,44,256 and others 332.
As many as 1,149 voters are aged above 85. And, 369 people with disability have been enlisted as voters in the constituency, while 952 people have already voted through postal ballots.
The district police have made elaborate security arrangements with 4,584 security personnel having been deployed. This includes 54 groups of Central Armed Reserve Police, 2,818 civil police officers and 1,550 Home Guards.
Appealing to voters to exercise their franchise, Deputy Commissioner Fauzia Tarannum has said that the elections will be conducted in a free and fair manner with complete transparency.
