At a time when poll fervour is catching up in the district, the administration has swung into action for conducting free and fair elections. Stating that the election will take place in a high-tech manner, district election-officer-cum-deputy commissioner Pradeep Agrawal shares some of the preparations being done to check violations:Q: What is the administration doing to check poll code violations?A: This time, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has introduced a hi-tech system to check if the complaints are genuine. The ECI has launched cVIGIL mobile application through which people can upload only live pictures and videos showing the violations. We have set up a district complaint centre where we are receiving complaints through this application. After verifying the genuineness of the complaint, it is forwarded to the flying squads deployed in the field. The flying squads have to act within 35-40 minutes and report to us. Each complaint has to be disposed of within 100 minutes.Q: What type of complaints have been received till now?A: Since elections are far, we are not getting many complaints at the moment. There are other general complaints related with voter list.Q: How many flying squads have been deployed in the district?A: For quick redressal of complaints, at least 14 and maximum 42 flying squads will move round-the-clock in all the areas. These squads are interconnected with the application and the control room, and on receipt of any complaint, the nearest squad will immediately reach the spot. The teams will then see if the complaint was right and inform the control room at the time of its disposal or otherwise. The flying squads too are under surveillance and directly connected with the chief election office (CEO) through CCTV cameras on their vehicles. They also share video proof at the time of spot visits. Moreover, we have requested the Punjab CEO to share the flying squads’ CCTV link with us so we are able to see everything with just one click.Q: What is the status of voters’ awareness programmes?A: Currently, several voters awareness programmes are going on in the district with an aim to enroll more voters and get maximum voting on May 19. Apart from this, activities are going on in colleges and some remote areas. On March 31, we are also going to organise a voters’ awareness marathon in the district.

Stay updated with all the Latest Ludhiana headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.