Maoist-hit areas of Singhbhum to witness voting for first-time; polling teams to be air dropped
Ranchi (PTI): Come May 13, many interior areas in the Maoist den of Singhbhum Lok Sabha seat in Jharkhand will witness voting for the first time, or after decades-long gap, as polling teams and materials will be air dropped from helicopters to enable people living in Saranda, Asia's densest Sal forest, to exercise their franchise.
As many as 118 remote booths will be set up by personnel and materials dropped from choppers.
"We are committed to ensuring that no voter is left out... we have identified many areas where polling will be conducted for the first time or after nearly two decades as these locations were badly affected by Maoist insurgency," West Singhbhum Deputy Commissioner cum District Election Officer Kuldeep Chaudhary told PTI.
Despite improvement in the situation, West Singhbhum remains one of the worst left-wing extremism-affected districts of the country. It had witnessed 46 Maoist-related incidents resulting in 22 deaths last year.
Polling stations such as Middle School, Nugdi and Madhya Vidyalaya, Borero will witness voting for the first time this election, the DC said.
"As many as 118 booths in difficult locations such as Robokera, Binj, Thalkobad, Jaraikela, Roam, Rengrahatu, Hansabeda and Chhotanagra have been identified for air dropping. In some areas, polling parties will have to walk for 4-5 km. We are ensuring that no area remains untouched this time," Chaudhary said.
Thalkobad and about two dozen other villages were earlier dubbed as "liberated zones" but the administration succeeded in establishing its presence through massive operations by security forces, including Operation Anaconda. A total of 15 new camps of security forces have been established in the region.
"Besides helicopters, polling parties will travel through trains and roads. As many as 121 teams will be dispatched by trains, for which dry runs have been conducted. Teams on foot have to reach cluster points, and then go to polling stations. By 5.30 am on the polling date, all teams must reach the stations to conduct mock polling," he said.
The DC said the constituency has over 62 voters who are over 100 years of age.
One among them is Walter Lakra of Nandpur area in Manoharpur police station who told the DC that he would not be able to walk to the polling booth. Chaudhary said he will get the option to exercise his franchise at his doorstep.
"For these 62 voters, and 3,909 electors aged above 85 years, besides 13,703 persons with disability, we have ensured that they get the option of home voting," he said.
The administration is resorting to innovative ways, including putting up a giant sky balloon at a height of 100 feet, and running 1,284 'Chunav Pathshala' under the Systematic Voter's Education and Electoral Participation (SVEEP) to make people aware of the need to exercise their franchise.
Singhbhum, which is a reserved constituency for Scheduled Tribes, has 14.32 lakh voters, of whom 7.27 lakh are women.
Sitting MP Geeta Kora, the wife of former chief minister Madhu Koda, has been fielded from the seat by the BJP.
Kora, who was the lone Congress MP from Jharkhand in the outgoing Lok Sabha, joined the saffron camp recently. INDIA allies are yet to declare any candidate for the seat.
Singhbhum Lok Sabha seat has six assembly constituencies - Seraikela, Chaibasa, Majhganon, Jagnathpur, Manoharpur and Chakradharpur. Barring Seraikela which falls in Seraikela-Kharsawan district, the remaining segments fall in West Singhbhum district.
Lok Sabha polls in Jharkhand will be held in four phases on May 13, 20, 25 and June 1.
In the 2019 general elections, the BJP had bagged 11 seats, while its ally AJSU had secured one. Both the JMM and Congress had won one seat each.
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Israel's military says it has fully disabled Yemen's main airport with airstrikes
Jerusalem, May 6 (AP): Israel's military said Tuesday it launched airstrikes against Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, fully disabling the country's international airport in the capital, Sanaa, and striking several power plants.
The strikes, the second in two days, came after Israel launched airstrikes in retaliation for a Houthi missile strike the previous day on Israel's international airport.
The Houthis' satellite news channel al-Masirah reported the strikes, confirming the airport had been hit.
Footage aired on Israeli television showed thick black plumes of smoke rising above the skyline of Sanaa. Social media video purported to show multiple strikes around Sanaa, with black smoke rising as the thumps of the blast echoed against the surrounding mountains.
There was no immediate information on any casualties.
Tuesday's strike came shortly after the military issued a warning on social media for people to evacuate the area of Yemen's international airport.
“We urge you to immediately evacuate the area of the airport and to warn anyone nearby to distance themselves immediately,” spokesperson Avichay Adraee wrote on social media, attaching a map of Sanaa International Airport. “Failure to evacuate the area endangers your lives.”
On Monday night, Israel targeted the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen's Red Sea province of Hodeida, killing at least one person and wounding 35.
The rebels' media office said at least six strikes hit the crucial Hodeida port. Others hit a cement factory in the district of Bajil, 55 kilometres northeast of Hodeida, the rebels said. The Houthi-run Health Ministry said the strikes killed at least four people and wounded 39 others.
The Houthis on Sunday launched a missile that struck an access road near Israel's main airport near Tel Aviv, briefly halting flights and commuter traffic. Four people were lightly injured.
It was the first time a missile struck the grounds of Israel's main airport, Ben Gurion, since the October 2023 start of the war in Gaza. It prompted a flurry of flight cancellations. While most missiles launched by the Houthis have been intercepted, some have penetrated Israel's missile defence systems, causing damage.
The Houthis have targeted Israel throughout the war in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, raising their profile as the last member of Iran's self-described “Axis of Resistance” capable of launching regular attacks on Israel.
The US military under President Donald Trump has launched an intensified campaign of airstrikes targeting the Houthis since March 15.
Israel has repeatedly struck against the rebels in Yemen. It struck Hodeida and its oil infrastructure in July after a Houthi drone attack killed one person and wounded 10 in Tel Aviv.
In September, Israel struck Hodeida again, killing at least four people after a missile targeted Ben Gurion airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was returning to the country. In December, Israeli strikes killed at least nine people in Hodeida.
