Training for polling personnel underway

Dimapur, Feb. 7 (EMN): Training programmes for polling personnel for the forthcoming 13th Nagaland Legislative Assembly election are underway in various districts of Nagaland. The first round training for presiding officers, 1st polling officers, and additional polling officers for VVPAT was held on Feb. 6 at Razukhrie Government Higher Secondary School in Kohima. Briefing the trainees, the district election officer of Kohima Rajesh Soundararajan urged them to stick with the latest guidelines and instruction of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and to focus on the training programme. Their efforts will ultimately reflect on the polling day, the trainees were told. The officer cautioned the trainees to ‘clarify their doubts’ from the master trainers when dealing with election matters ‘in order to avoid any problems.’ The SDO (civil) in-charge of personnel/ manpower and training management Zhoi Lohe informed polling personnel who have applied for exemption from election duty on medical grounds to appear before the medical board at Naga Hospital Authority of Kohima, on Feb. 8 and the 9th at 11:30 am. In a related programme, the first phase training programme for polling personnel in Wokha began on Feb. 6 at the government higher secondary school in Wokha. Wokha’s District Election Officer Dr. Manazir Jeelani Samoon, while briefing the polling personnel, urged them to take the training seriously for smooth conduct of the assembly elections. To ensure free, fair and peaceful election, 50 polling stations have been identified for webcasting, besides installing video camera in other polling stations, he informed. Series of trainings would also be conducted in the coming days to ensure that polling personnel are familiarised with their assigned responsibilities, the DC added. Likewise, training for presiding officers and all polling personnel in Pughoboto began on February 6. ADC & DEO Pughoboto, Avelu Ruho, while stating that the election duties assigned to them is a constitutional duty, urged them to be well equipped to conduct the election smoothly. Informing them that they should also carefully study their assignment of rules and regulation, she asked them not to take their duties and trainings lightly as unlike other times this time the election procedures have many new things including VVPATs, web casting in the polling stations etc. ADC & DEO further informed the duty officials to fill up the postal ballot form 12 and submit it to the nodal officer and apprised them to clarify any doubts and difficulties if unexpected things happen at any time. The duties and responsibilities of different category of polling personnel were trained by the master trainers including SDO Soil Ruokuosietuo, Nisheto, Vikitonou and Bokavi. The training for sector officers of Kiphire district was conducted in the conference hall of the deputy commissioners on February 5. DC & DEO, Mohammed Ali Shihab, in the meeting, urged the participants to work diligently for smooth conduct of election in their respective areas of control. He also directed them to be in station and supervise the election process. To make the election process fair and smooth, sectors officers were imparted training on multiple responsibilities including pre-poll, poll-day, with voters, handling of EVM sets, co-ordination with polling parties, BLOs, electors, village elders and political parties. In the final session, sector officers were given training on control unit, ballot unit, VVPAT, web casting and videography.