Ferrying polling personnel in helicopters begins amid tight security in Bastar

April 16, 2024 17:58

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With tight security in place, the authorities on Tuesday kicked off an exercise to ferry polling personnel in helicopters in Chhattisgarh's Maoist-hit Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, where voting will take place in the first phase of the elections on April 19.

The authorities have started dispatching electronic voting machines and polling parties to booths in sensitive areas of Bijapur and Sukma districts, a senior official said.

Located in the southern part of the Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, Bijapur and Sukma districts have reported multiple incidents of Maoist attacks on security personnel during elections in the past.

A total of 245 polling booths have been set up for general elections in Bijapur, of which 99 booths in the interior areas have been relocated (to safer places), Bijapur collector Anurag Pandey said.

Around 76 polling parties will be ferried to their destinations in helicopters, and the exercise began on Tuesday from the Bijapur district headquarters, three days before the polling, he said.

The teams that reach their destinations ahead of the polling day will stay in the nearest camp of security forces, he said. -- PTI

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