Ahead of the scheduled visit of the Election Commission of India (ECI) on 12 and 13 March, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo held a meeting with the civil and police administration here to sensitise them about the measures to be taken for smooth conduct of the Lok Sabha elections in the Union territory (UT).
During the meeting, the chief secretary maintained that the objective of the administration is to ensure free and fair elections with large-scale participation of the public. He impressed upon the divisional and district administration to take all the necessary measures to ensure that people don’t face any hardships in exercising their democratic rights.
Dulloo took up department-wise issues and inquired from the concerned officials about the measures they had taken so far in compliance with the ECI’s directions. He asked them to use the time before elections efficiently to make these guidelines applicable on the ground.
On this occasion, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) PK Pole informed the meeting about the initiatives to be taken by different departments. He made out that electoral literacy campaigns in educational institutions will be held in the coming days besides designating campus ambassadors in colleges and universities.
He further informed that per the ECI guidelines, each polling station should have assured minimum facilities. He revealed that each polling station should have facilities like toilets, ramps, power, drinking water, and furniture.
It was also disclosed that necessary measures ought to be taken for the inclusion of voter education in the regular curriculum in colleges and universities. The meeting also discussed the connectivity issues in polling stations, and approach roads to them in addition to the transport and other amenities to be made available for transportation of electoral machinery and staff during the election days in the UT.