The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Political parties warned against defacing properties

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Mar 04, 2009
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Political parties warned against defacing properties

ACP rank officer to coordinate with ROs on law & order front

Returning Officers advised to use video and digital cameras to monitor the events
Round-the-clock call centre with telephone no. ‘1100’ will receive public grievances

HYDERABAD: The District Election Officer and GHMC Commissioner S.P. Singh affirmed on Tuesday that no political party would be allowed to deface private or public property with writings, flags or posters.

Urging all the political parties to keep the city walls free from any defacement, he directed the Returning Officers to keep a watch and book cases against erring political parties.

Political parties could put up flags or paste posters on private properties provided requisite permissions were taken from the owners concerned, he told a meeting convened to review the schedule of elections and preparations with all the other government departments.

City Police Commissioner B. Prasada Rao, HMDA Commissioner K. S. Jawahar Reddy, Hyderabad District Collector Naveen Mittal, GHMC Special Commissioner M.T. Krishna Babu, Additional Commissioner (Elections) Neetu Prasad and all the Returning Officers and as well as Assistant Returning Officers attended the meeting. Mr. Singh said the model code of conduct came into force on Monday and hence, officials should ensure that it was followed in conduct of political meetings, organising processions, use of loudspeakers, regulation of plying vehicles, etc.

He also advised the Returning Officers to use video and digital cameras to monitor the events effectively. A round-the-clock call centre with telephone number ‘1100’ would receive public grievances and one Assistant Returning officer would be exclusively handling the public grievances. Officers had been told to give top priority to attend to each and every complaint.

Police Commissioner Prasada Rao said an Additional Commissioner of Police level rank officer would be posted to each Assembly segment to coordinate with the Returning Officers’ to maintain law & order. Joint inspections too would be conducted for better implementation of the model code of conduct, he added.

As many as 24,227 polling personnel would be pressed into service to man 3,229 polling booths which would have 7,014 electronic voting machines in the district.

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

Andhra Pradesh