District Collector Gaurav Uppal on Tuesday said the district administration is committed to resolving public grievances, even amid poll duty and while the model code of conduct is in force.
Prajavani, the public grievance redressal day conducted on Mondays, was cancelled this week with the poll code coming into effect on Sunday evening. And with polling day just a month away, officials are busy attending training, and video and audio conferences for reviewing arrangements.
However, Mr. Uppal assured that public grievances will not go unheard. “They are welcome to the Collector’s camp office every morning. Officers will also be instructed to deal with them on a daily basis. A dedicated day, like Prajavani, may not be possible,” he said.
MLC polls
In a press briefing on election arrangements for MLC teacher’s constituency (Warangal, Khammam and Nalgonda erstwhile districts) and Nalgonda Lok Sabha, Mr. Uppal said grievance redressal, learning from past experiences, will be ensured.
For the MLC elections on March 22, 185 polling stations are identified and there are 20, 888 eligible electorate. About 1,100 poll staff have undergone various training, and the cumulative counting of votes will take place in Nalgonda on March 26, he said.
The Nalgonda Lok Sabha constituency comprising seven assembly constituencies — Nalgonda, Nagarjunasagar, Devarakonda, Miryalaguda, Huzurnagar, Suryapet and Kodad — has an electorate of 15, 79, 207 voters.
Training to officials is under way, and several teams — flying squads, static surveillance, model code of conduct — were constituted on Monday.
On law and order arrangements, District Superintendent of Police A.V. Ranganath said 1, 990 polling centres are being categorised based on criticality. Already some 15, 000 persons across the district are bound over, all licensed weapons are in custody, and 244 pending arrest warrants will be cleared soon.
Awareness for voters, including persons with disability, status of enrolment, voter helpline 1950, importance of ethical voting and resolving electoral issues are priority, they said.
Several campaigns like engaging folk artists and giving away hand-outs are planned for the week.
Mr. Uppal said candidates are encouraged to follow a ‘eco-friendly campaign’ and keep noise levels to bare minimum.