Karnataka - Hubli-Dharwad   

Observers review preparations in Gadag, Dharwad districts

DHARWAD: Election observers for Haveri, Gadag and Dharwad have begun supervising the preparations in the districts which will go to the polls on May 22.

In all, 17 election observers and four expenditure observers have been deputed for the three districts.

Observers for Dharwad district K. Chandramouli, Guruprasad Mohapatra, Rashmi Shukla Sharma, P.V. Jaganmohan, Ravi Kota and C.P. Tripathi, and expenditure observers Ashutosh Barnaval and B.P. Meena held a review meeting on Friday.

Deputy Commissioner M.S. Srikar briefed the observers about the seven Assembly constituencies in the district. He told them that 1,173 polling booths would be set up in the district among which 424 had been classified as vulnerable booths.

Mr. Srikar told them that 1,173 returning officers and 4,692 election officers had been appointed for election duty and a three-phased training would be given to them before the polling date.

Hubli-Dharwad Police Commissioner Narayan Nadamani told the observers that 15 checkposts had been set up in the twin cities to curb the entry of liquor and other materials intended for distribution among voters.

Superintendent of Police of Dharwad B.S. Prakash said that 19 cases related to excise violation had been booked in the district and liquor and other materials worth Rs. 5.5 lakh had been seized.

The observers then reviewed various measures taken by the district administration for ensuring free and fair elections.

The observers for Gadag district Sonmai Barua, K.R. Meena, H.R. Pawar and Syeden Abbasi and expenditure observer Bijoy Kumar Mallick held a review meeting on the election preparations, on Saturday.

Deputy Commissioner N. Sriraman explained the various measures taken by the district administration for ensuring free and fair elections.

The issue of deputing micro observers for vulnerable polling booths and randomisation of election staff was also discussed.

Superintendent of Police of Gadag D. Roopa explained the security arrangements made in the district. The observers decided to hold a meeting with the representatives of various parties and the candidates on May 9.

The review meeting in Haveri is scheduled for Monday, according to sources.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Paper presentation contest begins
Observers review preparations in Gadag, Dharwad districts
Three killed in road accident
Poll code ‘violation’: 28 vehicles seized
79 candidates file papers on last day
Explosive materials seized in Hubli

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu