UDUPI: As
Karnataka is gearing up for a successful conduct of the two-phase
gram panchayat polls on December 22 and 27 respectively, the Karnataka
State Election Commission (
KSEC) has taken steps to ensure safety of personnel deputed for the polls in wake of the global
pandemic. The commission has decided to issue personnel deputed for the polls with a personal safety kit to ensure they do not contract the novel
coronavirus while discharging their duties.
Supplied by
Mysore Sales International Limited, the kit contains four sanitizer bottles each of 500ml, six sanitiser bottles each of 100ml, 20 triple layer surgical masks, six face shields and as many pairs of hand gloves. The kit also contains a bio-medical disposal bag. Accordingly,
Udupi district has received 1,260 kits and 620 thermal scanners which will help the people deputed for election duty.
The state election commission has deputed anganwadi workers to thermally scan the voters before they enter the
polling booth, ensure they follow social distancing norms and wear face masks properly. Meanwhile, the SEC has dispatched 219 kits for Brahmavar taluk, 171 kits for Udupi taluk, 138 for Baindoor and 72 for Hebri that will go to polls in phase I and 287 for Kundapur, 205 for Karkala and 151 for Kaup for which polls will be held in phase II.
Only the thermal scanners will be reused for the second phase of the polls, the SEC said. In addition, the commission has directed all voters to sanitise their hands with sanitisers kept outside the polling booth before they enter the booth. These steps are important at a time when Covid-19 cases are on the downslide across the state and also meet the objective of the commission to uphold democratic spirit even amidst these challenging times.