Jamshedpur, Nov. 21: The East Singhbhum administration is all set for the first phase of panchayat polls on November 22. Deputy commissioner Amitabh Kaushal said that that they have completed all preparations for the panchayat elections in the district.
�We have deployed forces in the fringe areas. Amidst threat of poll boycott in Ghurabandha area we have identified 172 polling booths as hypersensitive and 109 as sensitive and 139 as normal. Even the clusters and sectors of polling parties have been identified based on sensitivity of the area,� he noted.
According to reports, East Singhbhum SSP Anoop Mathew and East Singhbhum rural SP Shailender Kumar Sinha are camping in the rebel hit blocks taking stock of the situation.
The deputy commissioner further informed that voter slips have been distributed to each of the 1.5 lakh rural voters in Dumaria, Ghorabandha and Mosaboni blocks and the booth level officer had been directed to ensure that electorates were informed about their respective booths, polling stations and also time of the election (7 a.m. to 3 p.m.) to avoid any problems in searching their name in the voter�s list.
Counting of the votes for Dhalbhum sub-division will take place at Jamshedpur Co-operative College, while for Ghatshila sub-division at Ghatshila High School and Jagdish Chandra Uchh Vidhyalaya.
Social activist Dashmat Murmu expressed happiness over the preparations and expressed satisfaction over deployment of forces at strategic locations. He said that prior to 2010, the last local bodies polls were held in 1979 when Jharkhand was part of Bihar. After the formation of the state, the polls were delayed due to a legal issue over Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas) Act (PESA) Act 1996. In January 2010, the Supreme Court in January directed the state Election Commission to hold the elections under provisions of PESA Act.
Significantly, a large number of villagers owing commitment to the CPI (Maoist) are said to be entering the poll fray in the district this time. According to sources, many candidates from rebel-hit villages in
Musabani are contesting. Supported by Naxalites, these candidates are actually being fielded to secure a presence of the rebel outfit at the panchayat level, sources added.
East Singhbhum district administration has sent 420 polling parties to the Naxal infested blocks of Dumaria, Ghorabandha and Mosaboni from city to ensure free and peaceful conduction of the first phase of panchayat polls.
Incidentally there are 86 booths in Ghorabandha, 210 booths in Mosaboni and 124 in Dumaria and ballots boxes of the three blocks would be kept at the strong-room in Jagadish Chandra High School in Ghatshila.
Counting would take place on December 19. Elections would be held for the post gram panchayat members, gram panchayat mukhiya, panchayat samity members and zilla parishad members.