India News | As 15 Poll Staff Die Amid Heat, UP CEO Issues Instructions to Ensure Proper Arrangement at Booths
Get latest articles and stories on India at LatestLY. With at least 15 polling staff in Uttar Pradesh succumbing to heat-related conditions on Friday, the state's Chief Electoral Officer asked district authorities to make necessary arrangements at all polling stations to protect the personnel and voters from the scorching heat.
Lucknow, May 31 (PTI) With at least 15 polling staff in Uttar Pradesh succumbing to heat-related conditions on Friday, the state's Chief Electoral Officer asked district authorities to make necessary arrangements at all polling stations to protect the personnel and voters from the scorching heat.
Thirteen poll personnel deployed Mirzapur district died following high fever and high blood pressure amid heatwave conditions in the region. Twenty-three others were admitted in hospital. Two more people on election duty died and nine taken ill of suspected heat stroke in Sonbhadra district, a senior official said on Friday.
In a statement issued here on Friday, Chief Electoral Officer Navdeep Rinwa said that "during the departure of polling parties on May 31, information was received about polling personnel being affected by heatwave in some districts".
Rinwa directed the district authorities to ensure polling stations have arrangements for cold drinking water, adequate shade, fans and sitting arrangements for the elderly, women and disabled.
Thirteen Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh will vote in the phase of elections on Saturday.
"To protect against heatwave, adequate quantity of ORS and medical kits should be made available to paramedics and ASHA workers at every polling centre and voting place. Paramedic personnel should also be deployed along with the sector magistrate. The emergency ambulance service available in the concerned districts should be kept active, so that if required, it can be easily sent to the polling centres and polling booths," Rinwa said.
The CEO also directed that special emphasis should be laid on DOs and DON'Ts to be followed by voters to protect them from heatwave.
The CEO advised the voters as well as polling personnel to wear light cotton clothes.
he advised them to keep a cap, umbrella and white cotton towel or any other cloth to cover the head to protect from the scorching sun. The should carry a water bottle, use plain water, lemonade or ORS as per the need from time to time, he said.
Arrangements should also be made to provide water to the voters standing in the queue through volunteers, he said, appealing to people to reach the polling station in large numbers before temperatures start rising.
Voters must keep their voter slip, photo voter identity card and other alternative photo identity card with them, so that the voting process can be completed quickly, Rinwa added.
He also directed that shops and general stores near the polling stations where bottled drinking water is available should not be closed.
(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)