Silchar (Assam), 03 October (HS): Polling for the first-ever Silchar Municipal Corporation election since the town was upgraded from a municipal board to a municipal corporation began here on Saturday, with more than 2.70 lakh voters eligible to exercise their franchise across 40 wards.

Polling commenced at 7:30 am and will continue until 4 pm. The Silchar Municipal Corporation has a total of 42 wards, but elections are being held in 40 wards as candidates in two wards have already been elected unopposed. Counting of votes will be held on October 6.

A total of 2,70,772 voters are eligible to vote at 316 polling stations across the corporation area. Polling personnel carrying election materials had reached their respective stations on Friday to make necessary preparations for the voting process.

As many as 1,212 polling personnel have been deployed for the election. Of the total polling stations, 10 are being managed entirely by women personnel.

Security arrangements have been strengthened at sensitive and highly sensitive polling stations to ensure peaceful voting. Such polling stations have been categorised based on their vulnerability, with armed police personnel deployed at highly sensitive locations.

Quick Response Teams have also been deployed across Silchar to maintain round-the-clock surveillance, ensure the safety of voters and respond promptly to any untoward incident during the polling process.----------

Hindusthan Samachar / Sriprakash