Polling for Cuttack, Baripada civic bodies ends peacefully

Voting for the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) and Baripada Municipality today ended peacefully without any major untoward incidents reported from anywhere from the two places.
While nearly 60 per cent of electorate exercised their franchises in CMC elections, the voter turn out in Baripada Municipality was 71.5 per cent. The political fortunes of 350 candidates in CMC and 140 candidates in Baripada were sealed in EVMs. The counting of votes would be done tomorrow, official sources said.
A report from Cuttack said that this time many voters were found struggling to locate their booths and quite a few failed to vote failing to find their names in the voters list. Some of the booths recorded more than 80 per cent polling showing a great deal of eagerness to take the democratic process ahead.

Voting began smoothly in CMC areas barring few hiccups for faulty voting machines, in all the 422 booths from 8 am in the morning. Although, the voter turnout in the early hours was not encouraging, it picked up dramatically by afternoon and by 3 pm, a majority of booths recorded more than 50 percent polling.
Polling in a booth (412) under Cuttack Sadar was hampered for few minutes due to faulty EVM machine. "Polling resumed in the booth soon after the EVM was replaced," said the CMC election officer Laxmidhar Mohanty. Trouble began in some areas towards evening when the batteries of some EVMs failed to give adequate backup.

However, minor law and order problems erupted in some areas of Cuttack like in Bidanasi and Mahanadi Vihar areas and the situation were immediately brought under control by the police. Trouble also erupted at Poporda, Jobra and Bidyadharpur, although, situation in many other places remained tense since morning.
Cuttack district magistrate Girish SN overseeing the whole polling arrangements said "Polling went off in the city by and large peacefully barring few minor incidents at some places." He said situation in troubled areas were immediately brought under control by police forces rushing their immediately.