BHUBANESWAR: As the second wave of the pandemic is yet to be over, all preparatory arrangements for a Covid-19 safe bypoll to Pipili Assembly constituency have been made. The polling is scheduled on September 30.The last one hour of the bypoll will be dedicated for suspected or confirmed Covid cases for which polling teams have been provided with PPE kits, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) SK Lohani told mediapersons here on Tuesday.
He said that two extra staff including one nodal officer for Covid have been engaged in each polling station. As per the direction of the Election Commission of India (ECI), all government employees engaged in the bypoll duty including polling and police personnel, drivers and cameramen will have to be fully vaccinated.
Similarly, all election and counting agents deployed by the candidates will also have to be fully vaccinated, the CEO said and added that the district election officer (DEO) organised special vaccination camps at Puri, Delang and Pipili to ensure this.
The CEO said 201 sensitive polling stations have been identified in the constituency where Central Police Force, micro observers or web cameras or a combination of these measures will be put in place. He said that 1,490 polling personnel including 98 reserves have been deployed for poll duty. Besides, 696 additional polling personnel who will work outside booths to ensure Covid-19 guidelines have also been appointed, he added.