Dharwad: Voting for Karnataka state Assembly will take place on May 10, and the Election Commission has completed all necessary preparations for the polling. A total of 15,23,080 voters are expected to exercise their right to vote in 1,642 polling booths from 7 am to 6 pm.
District Election Officer Gurudatta Hegde has assured that each polling booth has been given adequate security and necessary infrastructure for safe voting and the safety of voting machines.
Hegde visited the Mustering Center of 71 Dharwad Assembly Polling Station, which was set up in the premises of Bassel Mission School in Dharwad city, to check and distribute voting machines and other accessories to the staff going to the polling booths. A total of 6,568 staff have been assigned to polling stations, including reserve personnel, to ensure the smooth running of the election.
Each polling booth has been provided with adequate security, and 216 critical and 162 vulnerable polling stations have been identified and given appropriate security. Over 2,200 police personnel, 22 CRPF, Home Guard, and KSRP contingents have been appointed for proper security. 824 polling booths have been deployed with webcasting and 175 polling booths with micro observers.
The district administration has taken necessary measures to ensure the comfort of voters and staff, including setting up restrooms at polling stations and providing basic facilities like plastic covers in case of rain. All returning officers have been instructed to provide the necessary facilities at polling stations.
Mustering and de-mustering centers have been set up in the center of seven assembly constituencies in the district. After voting, staff from all polling booths will deliver the ballot boxes to the demustering centers of their respective assembly constituencies. The ballot boxes will then be moved to strong rooms set up in Dharwad Agricultural University under proper security.
To facilitate the movement of staff from mustering centers to polling stations and back, a total of 392 vehicles, including 193 buses, 63 mini-buses, 64 school vehicles, and 72 cruisers of North-West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation, have been deployed. A total of 8,319 officers, including 2,036 PROs, 2,036 POs, and 175 micro-observers, have been trained and ordered to perform duty at polling stations.
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