Ramgarh (Jharkhand), May 19 (PTI) The sighting of a herd of 18 wild elephants at Gola block within Hazaribag Lok Sabha constituency in Jharkhand sent poll officials into a frenzy on Sunday.

The constituency, with 19.18 lakh voters including 9.31 lakh women, is scheduled for polls on May 20 in the second phase of Lok Sabha elections in Jharkhand and the fifth phase nationally.

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Officials have deployed two teams of 'Haathi Bhagao Dal' equipped with firecrackers, drums, and torches to keep the herd away from polling stations. Three blocks of Ramgarh district — Gola, Dulmi, and Mandu — are known for elephant movements.

For the safety of election officials staying overnight at polling stations in Gola block, which shares borders with West Bengal, special measures have been taken, a forest official said.

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Ramgarh DFO Nitish Kumar said the state election commission and the deputy commissioner have taken cognisance of the threat posed by elephants during the polls and have deployed Quick Response Teams (QRTs) for their safety, they added.

"We have deployed two well-trained teams of Haathi Bhagao Dal in Gola block to ward off elephant herds during the elections," Kumar said.

"Currently, there are no elephants in tusker-hit Mandu and Dulmi blocks of the district and so no teams have been deployed in those areas," another official said.

Of the total 852 polling stations in the district, 153 have been set up in Gola block, with the majority falling under jumbo-hit areas.

Additionally, 50 polling stations out of 229 in Mandu block fall in forest and hill areas, while a number of polling booths out of 64 in Dulmi block also fall under areas prone to elephant attacks.

"It is too difficult to predict the movement of the herd camping in Gola, and teams have been directed to be vigilant," an official said.

Meanwhile, a total of 4,048 officials were dispatched to their respective polling stations in Barkagaon and Ramgarh assembly constituencies on Sunday. Polling parties will stay in their respective booths at night to ensure the polling begins on time on Monday.

Hazaribag Lok Sabha seat comprises Barhi, Barkagaon, Ramgarh, Mandu, and Hazaribag assembly constituencies. PTI NAM

(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)