Kathua, August 21: District Election Officer Kathua, Dr. Rakesh Minhas(Deputy Commissioner Kathua), convened a meeting with key officers to asses election preparedness across the district’s six assembly segments.
During the meeting, the DEO emphasized the need for the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) of the six assembly constituencies—63-Bani, 64-Billawar, 65-Basohli, 66-Jasrota, 67-Kathua, and 68-Hiranagar—to appoint designated Nodal Officers. These Nodal Officers will be responsible for various roles and responsibilities as mandated by the Election Commission of India guidelines.
Dr. Minhas stressed the importance of assembly segment-specific arrangements, which are to be managed by the respective EROs, who will also serve as the Returning Officers for their constituencies. The meeting featured detailed discussions on several critical areas, including Training of polling staff, Establishment of strong rooms and provisions for CCTV surveillance, Randomization of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), Development of transportation and communication plans, Appointment of sectoral officers, Establishment of Single Window Permission mechanisms etc.
The DEO also underscored the importance of forming Media Certification and Monitoring Committees (MCMC), Flying Squads Teams (FST) and Static Surveillance Teams (SST) to uphold the integrity of the election process. He further directed the officers to draft and implement a robust Systematic Voters’ Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) plan aimed at increasing voter turnout, particularly focusing on first-time voters.
The DEO highlighted the need for all EROs to adhere strictly to the established timelines to ensure the smooth execution of the election process in compliance with ECI guidelines.
Pertinently, the six assembly constituencies of Kathua district are slated to go for poll on 1st October 2024 during third and final phase of the J&K Assembly elections.
Among others, ADC Kathua Ranjit Singh, ERO Kathua Vishav Pratap Singh (ACR Kathua), ERO Hiranagar Rakesh Kumar (SDM Hiranagar), ERO Jasrota Akhil Sadhotra (ACD Kathua) besides ERO Basohli Anil Thakur (ADC Basohli), ERO Billawar Vinay Khosla (ADC Billawar), ERO Bani Giasul Haq (SDM Bani) (joined Virtually), Nodal Officer Trainings Ranjit Thakur (CPO Kathua), Assistant Commissioner Kathua Jarad Pratik Anil, Deputy DEO Kathua Nagesh Singh, Nodal Officer MCMC, EMC, SVEEP (DIO Kathua) Neeraj Bhargav were present.