Balasore: Brisk voting was witnessed in several parts of Balasore Sadar and Tirtol assembly constituencies on Tuesday morning where by-elections are being held amid Covid-19 restrictions.
UPDATE:
03.00 PM: 54.85% voters turnout in Balasore Sadar Assembly constituency till 3 pm. Similarly, in Tirtol Assembly constituency, 55.23% voter turnout was reported till 3 pm.
02.44 PM: Polling for Tirtol Assembly seat in Jagatsinghpur: Elderly woman walking to Redhua booth in Raghunathpur block to cast her vote collapses midway; she was later declared dead at the hospital
02.34 PM: 126 people from Nandachaka village under Balasore Sadar Assembly constituency did not cast vote protesting lack of basic amenities in the area
02.25 PM: A booth level officer and a cop have been removed from duty over allegations of distributing voter slips in Balasore Sadar constituency. On charges of distribution of money to voters by a woman in the segment, State CEO says allegations yet to be proved, so probe underway.
01.45 PM: Till 1 pm Balasore Sadar Assembly constituency witnessed a voter turnout of 41.36%, while Tirtol Assembly constituency witnessed 39.68% turnout.
11.38 AM: Voter turnout in Balasore Sadar Assembly constituency till 11 am is 27.6% and 24.93% in Tirtol Assembly segment
10.29 AM: Locals gherao a woman after she was allegedly found distributing money to voters in ward number-1 of Balsore Sadar Assembly constituency. The woman stated to be a resident of Mayurbhanj has been handed over to the police.
According to reports, Balasore Sadar assembly constituency registered a 12.11 % polling while in Tirtol 7.58 % voting was recorded till 9 am.
State Election Commissioner Sushil Kumar Lohani informed that an average of 9.81 % voting has been reported at both the seats.
According to sources, the errors found during mock poles at few places have been corrected.
“Voting has been normal so far. I hope the voter turnout will increase subsequently. Voting will continue till 6 pm,” stated Lohani adding that Covid-19 guidelines are observed strictly during the polling.
“Thermal scanning of all the voters is being done. Persons with Covid-19 symptoms are given a token and they will be allowed to exercise their voting rights after 6 pm,” he said.
“We have also made wheelchair arrangements for the differently abled voters. They have been provided with vehicle passes and the polling is going on accordingly,” he said adding that 15 model polling booths each in both the constituencies have been set up with extra facilities for the convenience of the voters.
“The feedbacks we have received from different sources about the polling process have so far been positive and the voters have expressed their satisfaction. Despite the prevalent pandemic situation, people are coming out in good numbers to exercise their Constitutional right,” he said.