Plastic and tobacco products banned

Thiruvananthapuram: The district administration has imposed a ban on plastic in areas within 100 metres around polling stations on Tuesday. The decision was taken as part of introducing green protocol for election. The areas have also been declared as tobacco-free for the first time.
There will be ban on flex boards, plastic bags, plastic cups, plastic plates , etc. Distribution of food and water in plastic containers too will be prohibited. The polling will begin at 7am and will conclude at 6pm.

Assistant returning officer, electoral registration officer and volunteers of Haritha Keralam and Suchitwa Mission will review the observance of green protocol. Police and NSS volunteers will monitor all polling stations, said district collector K Vasuki. Green protocol has been in effect since the initial days of the poll campaign. The directive not to use flex boards was received well by all candidates in the fray in Thiruvananthapuram and Attingal.

The poll process will begin in all booths with mock polling scheduled at 6am. The polling agents of all parties will be allowed to participate in mock polling. Agents will cast votes on EVM and ensure that the vote cast on the electronic machine is the same that is displayed on the VVPAT. Agents of political parties will note down the number of votes polled. After mock poll, the number of votes mentioned in the paper and in the machine will be reviewed. If there is no complaint from the part of agents, the voting machine will be cleared and sealed for voting at 7am.

There are as many as 27.14 lakh voters in Thiruvananthapuram and Attingal constituencies. Of these as many as 14,23,857 are men, 12,90,259 women and 48 transgender persons. The number of voters in Thiruvananthapuram constituency is 13,67,523. Of this, 7,06,557 are women, 6,60,932 are men and 34 transgender persons. In Attingal, there are 7,17,300 women, 6,29,327 men and 14 transgender persons. Around 2,013 voters in the district are staying abroad. Around 1,071 voters in Thiruvananthapuram constituency and 942 voters in Attingal constituency are staying abroad. There are 17 candidates contesting in Thiruvananthapuram constituency and 19 in Attingal.

There are 2,715 polling booths in the district. Of these, around 835 are identified as sensitive booths. The district administration has arranged special security measures in these booths. Around 97 were identified as extremely critical booths. There will be webcasting from 132 polling stations and micro observers were deployed in 129 polling booths.

Voting machines will be shifted to the counting centre at Mar Ivanios College, Nalanchira, after voting. The machines will be kept at the highly secured strong rooms at the college till May 23. Central forces will be deployed at the college for security. Surveillance measures including CCTVs have been introduced.

Public can call to collectorate control room for all issues related to Lok Sabha elections. Voters in Thiruvananthapuram constituency can call to 0471-2731022 and those from Attingal can call 0471-2731122.