The Times of India 22.11.2013
Video monitoring for municipal polls
KOLKATA/ HOWRAH/ WEST MIDNAPORE: The death of two persons in Howrah while making bombs on Thursday is an indication that the municipal election there on Friday will keep the police on their toes. Not only HMC, administration is taking no chance for other four municipalities — Jhargram, Midnapore, Krishnagar and Behrampore — that are going to polls on the same day.
"There will be video monitoring system in all the booths and following State Election Commission's guidelines, we have made adequate police arrangement for all the booths," said Howrah's district magistrate Shubhanjan Das. The district's deputy commissioner (headquarters) Nishat Parvez said, "We are treating all the 987 booths as sensitive and structuring our mechanism in that way. We are ready to face any kind of situation".
According to sources in the Howrah Commissionerate, there will be 5000 security personnel, 27 mobile vans, 12 HRFS, 9 QRT, RAF and Combat force to man 987 booths on 314 poll premises as 7,90,840 voters go to exercise their franchise on Friday. "We have sealed 18 points and are keeping a watch on the movement of all the incoming and outgoing vehicles," said a senior police officer.
If Howrah is sensitive for its political ramifications, then Jhargarm Municiplaity is sensitive because of its long-drawn Maoist activities. "The rebels will observe the second death anniversary of Kishenji on November 24 and there is every possibility that they will try to disrupt the poll proceedings on November 22. We are not taking any chance and trying to make full-proof arrangement," a senior police officer said.
According senior police officers of the district, though the premises and the booths will be manned by the state police personnel, the entire town will be taken care of by the central forces. "We have sealed all the routes leading to Odisha and Bankura to stop any kind of infiltration," a senior police officer said, adding that there will be five armed police and five constables at 62 booths in the 17 wards of Jhargram. There will be total 1300 policemen of whom 400 are constables who will man the booths.
"We have done everything possible to beef up security at Jangalmahal and Midnapore," West Midnapore DM Golam Ansari said.
Midnapore, on the other hand, has 153 booths spread over 64 premises where 1,19,863 voters will go to exercise their franchise. "There will be one armed police and one constable per booth and the premises will be overseen by one ASI and he will be assisted by two constables. There will additional forces which will move if required," Amitava Dutta, SDO of Midnapore town and also the returning officer, said.
