Second phase of Gram Panchayat polls in Karnataka on Sunday
Bengaluru: A total of 2,709 panchayats of 109 taluks in Karnataka will go for voting in the second phase of Gram Panchayat elections on Sunday, poll officials said.
There are 1,05,431 candidates in the fray for 39,378 seats.
Polling will be held from 7 am to 5 pm in over 20,728 booths.
A total of 3,697 candidates have been elected unopposed already, officials said.
The election is happening amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and those who have tested positive or under primary/secondary contacts can vote in the last hour of polling, they said.
Elaborate security and COVID-related precautionary measures have been made for the voting, they said, adding that wearing masks and maintaining social distancing is mandatory.
Hand sanitizers will be available in polling booths.
The number of voters in each booth has been reduced from 1,500 to 1,000.
Anganwadi, ASHA workers, and Health Department officials have been roped in for poll duty.
Though these polls don't take place on party symbols, all political parties have put in efforts to ensure that the candidate supported by them wins, so as to have their hold on grassroots level politics, which may prove advantageous for them in taluk or Zilla panchayat and even assembly polls whenever it happens.
Polling for 3,019 panchayats in 117 taluks were held in the first phase on December 22, and the counting for both phases will take place on December 30.
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4 workers die after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad
Dhanbad (Jharkhand) (PTI): At least four workers died after being buried under coal slurry in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district on Saturday, a police official said.
The incident took place at Moonidih coal washery in the command area of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL).
"Bodies of all four workers were dug out of debris during a rescue operation," Putki police station in-charge Waqar Hussain told PTI.
The incident took place when coal slurry was being loaded into trucks by workers, during which a large chunk of slurry fell and trapped several workers underneath, officials said.
The deceased have been identified as Manik Bauri, Dinesh Bauri, Deepak Bauri, and Hemlal Gope.
Meanwhile, the family members of the deceased and local villagers placed the bodies in front of the washery gate and began a protest.
They demanded compensation, jobs for dependents and action against those responsible for the incident.
Police and administration officials are trying to pacify the protesters, an official said.
