Noida: E-rickshaws will be made available for persons with disabilities to facilitate them to vote during elections in the three assembly constituencies in Gautam Buddh Nagar, the district administration said on Saturday.
For elderly people and COVID-19 positive voters, there will be an option for the postal ballot, District Magistrate Suhas L Yathiraj said.
Over 16 lakh voters in Gautam Buddh Nagar
Altogether, there are 16,23,545 voters enrolled across the three constituencies of Noida, Dadri and Jewar in Gautam Buddh Nagar. Of these, 9,02,394 are male, 7,21,052 female and 99 are enrolled under the third gender, officials said.
The assembly elections would be held on February 10 in the district and the results would be announced on March 10, Yathiraj told reporters in presence of Police Commissioner Alok Singh.
"There will be adequate safety measures for persons with disabilities and elderly voters. E-rickshaws will be made available for persons with disabilities to facilitate voting for them. For elderly people, there will be an option for a postal ballot. They may or may not choose it," he said.
"Postal ballot option will also be available for voters who might be infected by COVID-19 at the time of the election," he added.
552 polling stations in Gautam Buddh Nagar
According to official figures, there will be 552 polling stations across the district, Noida (149), Dadri (201) and Jewar (202).
"There are 202 'critical' polling stations in Gautam Buddh Nagar," Yathiraj said, noting that any station is designated critical on the basis of certain criteria that includes violence in the past and parameters set by the Election Commission.
He said there will be nine flying squads and as many static monitoring teams for every assembly constituency, while there will be three video surveillance teams -- one each in Noida, Dadri and Jewar.
The Model Code of Conduct (MCC) has come into force in Gautam Buddh Nagar and initiatives like removal of banners and hoardings of political parties or persons are being carried out in public spaces and government premises, he said.
Citing restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Yathiraj said there is a provision for online nomination for election candidates. In the case of physical nomination, he said only two people will be allowed to accompany any candidate going to file in their nomination and only two vehicles are permitted for it.
A media monitoring committee has also been activated to ensure compliance of the MCC as there will be increased online campaigning this time due to curtailed physical rallies in the wake of the pandemic, he said.
