Shimla: Reviewing preparations for Lok Sabha elections, chief secretary B K Agarwal along with chief electoral officer Devesh Kumar directed the authorities to set up inter-state nakas at entry and exit points of Himachal Pradesh and install CCTV cameras for 24-hour vigilance.During a meeting in Shimla on Wednesday, it was also decided to keep all the warehouses in the state under round-the-clock CCTV surveillance and intensive vigil over inter-state movement of vehicles at RTO checkposts and border checkposts till completion of the polls.The excise department has been directed to submit liquor and cash reports on prescribed format to the EC.Director general of police S R Mardi said while installation of CCTV cameras was in progress, they require some necessary equipment to be purchased for effective monitoring. Besides, additional battalions of home guards and police personnel are needed for the purpose. So far, one battalion of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) has been deployed.Chief electoral officer Devesh Kumar said law and order reports regarding seizure of liquor, arms, cash were required to be sent daily to the CEO for further submission to the EC. He said there was a need for inter-state coordination and meetings among excise commissioners and law and order agencies of neighbouring states for effective monitoring of trade of illicit liquor, drugs, cash and illegal arms.Agarwal directed all the secretaries to thoroughly go through the important instructions regarding the model code of conduct and also apprise and advise their ministers accordingly about the dos and dont’s.Directions were also issued to the health department to provide cashless treatment to all those deployed for the election duty.Instructions were issued to the HRTC secretary to remove all the banners, if left out, in HRTC buses. It was also directed for maintenance and repair of all the roads, particularly in tribal and hard areas. Direction were given to maintain and repair the paths, connecting polling stations, and maintenance of ramps.It was decided to keep the PWD machinery at vulnerable points more prone to landslides and blockades. Directions were issued for uninterrupted water and power supply at all the polling booths set up for smooth conduct of polls.

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