Administration works hard to ensure free and fair polls

Even as Punekars queue up to vote today, the city administration is working hard to ensure that all goes well in the 6,669 polling booths in the Pune, Baramati, Shirur and Maval assembly constituencies that are part of the Pune Lok Sabha constituency.

Digital cameras are being placed at 248 polling stations, so thatu00a0 each of the 18.05 lakh registered voters in the Pune Lok Sabha constituency who turn up to vote for the 36 candidates in the fray, are photographed. Bogus voters beware!



Over 3,400 police personnel have been deployed in rural areas and 6,200 in the urban areas. The installation of a total of 6,717 Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) in the Pune Lok Sabha constituency was completed yesterday. The EVM sets are located in 570 polling booths,u00a0 are situated in schools, colleges and educational institutes.u00a0u00a0

The electricity-powered EVMs are backed with batteries to cope up with load shedding, which is a major issue in Maharashtra.u00a0u00a0

u00a0"We will not allow any hurdles to come in the way of voting and counting. A public holiday has been declared so that all citizens can vote. Security at 513 polling booths that are considered sensitive has been strengthened. We are keeping all EVMs in strong rooms to ensure they are safe,"u00a0 said Chandrakant Dalvi, the district collector, who holds the additional charge of District Election Officer.

"Special arrangements have been made to ensure free and fair polling. A public holiday has been declared today, so all citizens can exercise their right to vote," he said.u00a0u00a0