Northern states take stock of preparations for polls

Officials from five northern states and the Union Territory of Chandigarh on Thursday took stock of the preparations for Lok Sabha elections.

The Inter-state Coordination Committee held a meeting with various law enforcement agencies for the Lok Sabha elections.

Punjab Chief Electoral Officer S. Karuna Raju and Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) Dinkar Gupta were also present at the meeting.

Officials from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir and the Union Territory of Chandigarh participated in the meeting.

Raju emphasised that Punjab and neighbouring states should ensure an effective set-up of interstate police barriers to check vehicles passing through the "nakas" (check-posts).

He said that all vehicles, including government vehicles and ambulances, should be checked. He also directed to ensure checking of Volvo buses and trucks entering the state from Delhi side by setting up surprise police posts equipped with CCTV cameras at these points.

Polling for the 10 Lok Sabha seats in Haryana will take place on May 12, while 13 seats in Punjab and one seat in Chandigarh will go to polls on May 19.

"Polling in Punjab is to be held in last phase and the people from other states can come to influence the voters, so adequate and necessary preventive measures should be timely put in place," Raju said.

DGP Gupta asked the officers of law enforcement agencies to share information relating to law and order. He said that it is the need of the hour for security agencies to remain more vigilant in view of the attempts of foreign hands to disrupt the law and order of this border state.

"There would be no smuggling of allopathic medicine, country-made liquor and opium, especially from Baddi and Damtal in Himachal Pradesh, into Punjab and Haryana. Officers from Rajasthan have assured that they would also strictly control the smuggling of poppy husk and opium," a spokesman said here.

Haryana officials said that they have made elaborate arrangements to check the smuggling of illegal arms from Uttar Pradesh border areas.

--IANS

js/nir