Mansa to have pink polling booths

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, March 11

Five pink polling booths will be set up in each Assembly constituency of Mansa district where only female voters will be able to cast their votes.

The objective of these booths is to encourage women to come out of their homes and cast vote. Besides, five model polling booths each will be set up in all three constituencies.

District Election Officer Apneet Riyait, who is also Deputy Commissioner, said this while addressing a meeting of political parties convened for the Lok Sabha elections. Mansa SSP Gulneet Singh Khurana was also present in the meeting.

Mansa, Sardulgarh and Budhlada Assembly seats will have five pink polling booths each. On these polling booths, only female security officers and employees will be deputed. Each constituency will also have five model polling booths wherein services will be provided according to the instructions of the Election Commission.

The District Election Officer added that the social media accounts of political candidates would also be monitored. All three Assembly segments of Mansa district come under the Bathinda Lok Sabha seat.

Giving further information about the arrangements made for maintaining law and order during the elections, SSP Khurana said the Mansa police had already set up three interstate nakas and a total of 25 such nakas will be set up to check the borders.

He said 65 per cent of the arms licence holders had already deposited their weapons while the rest had been asked to deposit the same at their nearest police station. Similarly, the police were keeping a strict vigil on the movement of liquor as well, the SSP said. Addressing representatives of various political parties, the District Election Officer and SSP Khurana said permission for using loudspeakers and holding rallies had to be taken by applying for the same on the Suwidha app.

“If any political party holds a political activity without permission, action will be taken as per the law,” they said.

Both officers also appealed to the representatives of political parties to participate in every meeting of the district administration to be convened on the elections so that the poll could be conducted in a transparent manner.

Riyait said, “No government employee or officer will get any leave till the elections are over. If anyone seeks leave on medical grounds, he or she will have to submit a certificate provided by the Civil Surgeon.”

ADC (G) Rajdeep Singh Brar, ADC (D) Gurmeet Singh Sidhu, Assistant Commissioner Navdeep Kumar, Mansa SDM Abhijeet Kaplish, Sardulgarh SDM Latif Ahmed, Budhlada SDM Aditya Dhachwal and SP (H) Major Singh were present in the meeting.