Sonitpur Deputy Commissioner Manoj Kumar Deka (centre) briefing media on panchayat polls on Thursday. Photo: Northeast Now

The Sonitpur district administration has geared up for smooth conduct of the upcoming panchayat elections in a free and fair manner.

Addressing the media at the Conference Hall of the Deputy Commissioner’s Office here on Thursday, Sonitpur Deputy Commissioner Manoj Kumar Deka said the district will go to polls in the first phase on December 5. Of the 919 polling stations, 84 have been identified as very sensitive while 293 have been identified as sensitive with the rest 542 being comparatively safe.

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Seeking active cooperation of the media in giving adequate publicity about the fair process of the election, the Deputy Commissioner said all necessary steps have been taken to provide adequate security throughout the district in view of the upcoming polls.

For smooth conduct of the election process, the district administration has opened various cells under the supervision of senior district administration officials and has engaged adequate staff in each of these cells.

The total number of voters in the district is 6, 62, 802 out of which 3, 40, 614 are males and 3, 22, 188 are females. There are a total of 19 Zilla Parishad constituencies, 7 Anchalik Panchayats and 82 gaon panchayats in Sonitpur district.

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District Development Commissioner Farouk Alam gave details about the schedule of the panchayat polls and the Model Code of Conduct. He also informed that the training for authorized officers has already been completed and that a helpdesk will be opened at the DC office premises for candidates willing to contest the polls.

A meeting with all political parties was also held on Wednesday evening, where the Deputy Commissioner sought cooperation from all political parties and public representatives for smooth conduct of the panchayat polls.