Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): To deal with any kind of eventuality in Naxal areas, Election Commission has come up with a foolproof plan. Though paramilitary forces will be deployed, Chief Electoral Officer Anupam Rajan has requested Election Commission to provide two helicopters and an air ambulance on polling day.
The choppers and air ambulance will be deployed near Naxal areas like Jabalpur, Gondia (Maharashtra) and Balaghat so that they can be used for evacuation of polling staff in case of emergency. Though it is not known how much paramilitary forces have been sought for Naxal areas, what is certain is that its deployment will surpass the numbers deployed in previous Assembly elections.
Balaghat, Mandla and Dindori are three naxal-hit districts in Madhya Pradesh. During election, Naxalites discourage villagers to vote. A week back, armed naxals shot dead a former sarpanch, suspecting it to be a police informer. They called him out of house, took him to a desolate place and opened fire.
The incident instilled fear in villagers. The local administration is trying to boost confidence among villagers by carrying out SVEEP activities in Balaghat and ensuring water tight security arrangements.
In Mandla district, security has been beefed up. Mandla district collector Dr Saloni Sidana, SP visited most villagers where security situation was grim. She has promoted confidence building measures among villagers so that they can vote. The tribals are being contacted in dialect they speak. After Balaghat incident, Mandla administration is on alert mode.
