SAMBALPUR: Polling for Sambalpur parliamentary constituency ended peacefully amid stray incidents of disturbance on Saturday. By 9 pm, the constituency recorded 68.87 per cent and the district recorded 72.20 per cent voter turnout.
While the polling started at 7 am in majority of the booths, some booths faced delay due to faulty EVMs. The booths 52, 69, 70, 118 and 119 in Sambalpur Assembly faced a delay of more than 90 minutes allegedly due to slow working of untrained polling staff.
Till 5 pm, the district recorded 65.61 per cent on an average. Kuchinda Assembly recorded 72.55 per cent followed by Rengali at 69.11 per cent, Rairakhol 66 per cent and Sambalpur Urban Assembly recorded the lowest 54.40 per cent. This apart, Deogarh recorded 67 per cent, followed by Chhendipada 65.50 per cent and Athamallik 66.20 per cent in the segment. In the 2019 elections, the Sambalpur parliamentary constituency had recorded a turnout of 76.82 per cent.
This time, as many as 8,27,463 voters were eligible to exercise their franchise in the district, across 948 polling booths.
Though majority of the polling booths were closed by 7 pm, some polling stations continued beyond 9 pm. Booth number 52 of Saplahara under Remed area, besides 89 and 90 of Gopalmal in the city saw a long queue of voters even at 9 pm.
Till reports last came in, no untoward incident was reported in the district during the polling. Adequate security arrangements were made across all the polling booths. Twenty-four flying squads and 24 Static Surveillance Teams were deployed to ensure smooth polling across all Assembly constituencies in the district. As many as 568 polling booths were monitored through web-casting.
Some booths in Sambalpur Urban constituency also faced minor delay due to faulty EVM. Despite the claim of the district administration, many polling booths lacked proper shade and drinking water facilities leaving voters inconvenienced amid heatwave condition.
In Deogarh district under the segment, people of Charimancha village in Raitabahal panchayat of Barkote block boycotted polling on the day. The 540 voters of two wards under the booth had threatened poll boycott demanding homestead land and revenue village status for their village. Though the district administration had intervened and convinced the villagers, no voter turned up until 5 pm at the booth.
The Sambalpur PC constitutes Sambalpur, Kuchinda, Rengali and Rairakhol Assembly segments besides three others, Athamallik, Chhendipada and Deogarh.