Elaborate arrangements in place for May 7 Lok Sabha elections

Elaborate arrangements are in place for general elections on May 7 for three Lok Sabha seats namely Amalapuram, Rajahmundry and Kakinada, as well as 19 assembly seats, East Godavari district collector and district election officer Neetu Prasad said here today.
Elections will be held from 7 AM to 6 PM in all areas except agency area of Rampachodavaram where polls will be held between 7 AM and 5 PM as per orders issued by Chief Electoral Officer Bhanwar Lal.
Prasad said that 4,056 polling stations have been set up in the district, out of which 722 polling stations are hypersensitive, 714 are sensitive and and 2,260 are ordinary ones, adding that 37,73,322 voters are set to exercise their franchise.

She said that live polls will be webcast live in hypersensitive and sensitive polling stations while observers and video recording in other polling stations would be undertaken where webcasting was not possible.
Services of nearly 35,000 polling staff would be utilised during polling day, including 520 observers, 354 sectoral officials, 4,000 police personnel, 3,000 drivers and cleaners, 750 videographers as well as 3000 students who have been roped in to webcast voting live, she said.
To maintain queues, 4,581 personnel will be deployed and this would include 2358 village revenue assistants, 80 excise personnel, 50 fire personnel, 9 legal metrology officials, 120 forest officials, 689 scouts and guides, 1249 NSS volunteers and 26 transport officials, she said.

So far 19,902 postal ballots have been registered in three Lok Sabha constituencies in Rajahmundry, Amalapuram and Kakinada.
The facility was provided to staff who are on election duty in various parts of the district, she said.