Urban local body polls: Polling begins on a dull note in Tiruchi

Many voters said they had not received their booth slips, and the change in ward numbers caused confusion

Polling for the urban local body elections begun on a dull note in Tiruchi on Saturday.

Voters were seen waiting in queues only in some booths, while many others had just a few voters in the first hour of polling. Several voters said they had not received the booth slips and had queued up to get the same first at the polling booths. The change in ward numbers caused much confusion and difficulty for voters to obtain the slips.

At Chinmaya Vidyalaya school in Srirangam, where multiple polling booths have been set up, officials assisted the voters to identify their booths.

Voters were screened for their body temperature before being allowed to vote. Police personnel maintained a vigil against voters coming in without face masks. Face masks were issued to those who came in without one. Each voter was given a hand glove made of thin plastic to be worn while casting their vote on the EVMs.

At the polling station at the Mahatma Gandhi Centenary Vidyalaya at Thennur, a policeman, using a public address system, was asking those without masks to wear them. "Many voters turn up with masks, but a few stubbornly refuse to wear. We have been told not to allow those without masks," he said.

The first one hour of polling was peaceful in Tiruchi City Corporation, five municipalities and 14 town panchayats in Tiruchi district.

Tiruchi Collector S. Sivarasu, who cast his vote at a booth in Khajamalai, said that a mock poll was conducted before commencing polling. Micro-observers had been overseeing the proceedings at 167 booths, which have been classified as sensitive. Arrangements have been made to record the entire proceedings.