EC to webcast polls,facility not for public

The State Election Commission will,for the first time,web cast the polling process live in 200 booths across the state but the facility will not be available to the public.

The State Election Commission will,for the first time,web cast the polling process live in 200 booths across the state but the facility will not be available to the public. The Punjab Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Kusumjit Kaur Sidhu said the web casting would be conducted with the help of web cameras and through the internet. The technical education department of the state government has been roped in to help with the process,she added.

The web casting will be done only in 200 polling booths in 11 districts of the state for which the technical education department will make the necessary provisions with the help of 11 technical institutes falling in the districts. To make the program a success around 200 engineering students of these institutes would be deployed at booths with a laptop and an internet connection,Sidhu said.

She also added that the initiative was only for the officers of the Election Commission and personnel at the CEOs office.

Sidhu further said that in order to ensure free and fair polls,the states border will be sealed to prevent outsiders with motives of disturbing the law and order situation,from entering Punjab.

The CEO added that the Commission was keeping a strict vigil over the complaints regarding paid news benefiting certain candidates,being published in a few newspapers.

The Commission has reportedly received complaints that some representatives of a few newspapers were contacting candidates over the issue.

Sidhu,however,warned that poll observers were keeping an eye on news content and if the Commission found anything suspicious,it would be entered in the particular candidates shadow register and subsequently would be entered in the expenditure,if it is proved that a certain news item was paid for.

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Joint CEO Gurkirat Kirpal Singh,on the other hand,said the EC has identified 999 vulnerable areas in the state,and appropriate action would be taken to ensure free and fair elections in them.

He clarified that the vulnerable areas have been identified after following a fixed criteria and as a part of confidence building measures in these constituencies,flag marches would be undertaken by the para-military forces and the concerned election observers would make regular visits. Singh further said that apart from these measures,the sector magistrate would visit the areas before and during the poll.

The Joint CEO also said special vigil was being kept on miscreants and other people having criminal background belonging to the areas and the police have been directed to arrest the proclaimed offenders in the areas.

Special CEO Usha R Sharma,meanwhile,said that following a number of complaints against Mukhwinder Singh,a Deputy Superintendent Of Police (DSP) posted at Sub Division Malout,regarding his involvement in political activities he has been transferred to 9 th Battalion of the Punjab Armed Police (PAP) at Amritsar.

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She further said that DSP Jaswant Singh has been transferred to Malout Sub Division in place of Mukhwinder Singh.

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