‘‘Outsiders’ need to go out of constituencies after May 10’
Returning Officer Sasikanth Senthil
Mangaluru, May 6: Before 48 hours of closing all voting process, which means, after May 10, 6 pm, all outsiders including star campaigners, workers and party leaders should not be in any constituencies, said Returning Officer Sasikanth Senthil.
Speaking to reporters here on Sunday, Senthil said that all owners of all hotels, community halls and lodges were clearly directed not to provide lodging facility for any of the ‘outsiders’ in any constituency in the district. If anybody found staying inside the constituency violating the direction, would be sent outside, said Sentil, who is also the deputy commissioner of Dakshina Kannada district.
The district administration has made all preparations for the election to be held on May 12. As per the direction of the Election Commission, all voters, political parties and candidates should follow the norms and it was informed to the agents of all candidates, he said.
Appointment of polling agents
Mock polling would be conducted in all 1858 polling booths before the actual polling starts on May 12. So, all polling agents should be present in polling stations by 5.45 am and be there till the end of voting process. Candidates could appoint their agents and provide the appointment orders in Form 10 to respective officers of the polling stations, he said.
Total 517 sensitive polling stations were identified in the district in which, web casting, CPMF deployment, videography and micro observers were appointed, he said.
Exit poll survey
Before 48 hours of the closing of election process, the Election Commission has banned all exit poll surveys. Following this, political parties, candidates and their supporters should get the permission from the district and state level MCMC committee and get the permission for the advertisements to be given on May 11 and 12, which means, by May 9, they have to submit two sets of advertisements should be submitted to Chief Election Officer, 2nd Floor, East Part, Treasury Bhavan, Race Course Road, Bengaluru with all information and publish them, he said.
It is also banned campaigning within the radius of 100 mt of the polling station on May 12. The political parties could set up candidates booths after 200 mts of polling station and they could use one table, two chairs and 1.5 ft banner. But before setting up of such booths, they should get permission from gram panchayat or local bodies, he said.
A candidate could get permission to use total three vehicles including one for the candidate, one for agent and another for party workers, he said.
In all polling stations, a facility would be provided with the booth level officer would help the voters to get their voter ID number with the help of alphabetical list of voters, he said.
Prohibitory order
In order to conduct the election in a smooth way, prohibitory order was imposed under Section 144 to avoid illegal assembly, conducting public programme, taking out procession and public campaigning before 48 hours of voting, he said.
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London, Nov 22: A bomb disposal squad deployed as a “precaution” to the South Terminal of Gatwick Airport concluded an investigation into a "security incident" on Friday after making a “suspect package” safe.
The South Terminal of Gatwick Airport, the UK's second busiest airport after Heathrow, which was briefly shut owing to the incident reopened following the incident.
The Gatwick is around 45 km south of London.
Two people detained during the enquiries have since been allowed to continue their journey as the airport was opened.
“Police have concluded their investigation into a report of a suspect package at Gatwick Airport. Officers from the EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team made the package safe, and the airport has been handed back to its operator,” Sussex Police said in an updated statement.
“Two people detained while enquiries were ongoing have subsequently been allowed to continue their journeys. There will remain an increased police presence in the area to assist with passengers accessing the South Terminal for onward travel,” the statement added.
Earlier on Friday, the incident caused severe disruption at the busy airport’s South Terminal, while the North Terminal of Gatwick Airport remained unaffected.
“Police were called to the South Terminal at Gatwick Airport at 8.20 am on Friday (November 22) following the discovery of a suspected prohibited item in luggage,” a Sussex Police statement said.
“To ensure the safety of the public, staff and other airport users, a security cordon has been put in place whilst the matter is dealt with. As a precaution, an EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) team is being deployed to the airport. This is causing significant disruption and some roads around the South Terminal have been closed. We’d advise the public to avoid the area where possible,” it said.
Footage on social media taken outside the airport showed crowds of frustrated travellers being moved away from the terminal building.
Gatwick said it was working hard to resolve the issue.
“A large part of the South Terminal has been evacuated as a precaution while we continue to investigate a security incident," the airport said in a social media post.
“Passengers will not be able to enter the South Terminal while this is ongoing. The safety and security of our passengers and staff remain our top priority. We are working hard to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
Train and bus services that serve the airport were also impacted while the police carried out their inquiries.
In an unrelated incident in south London on Friday morning, the US Embassy area in Nine Elms by the River Thames was the scene of a controlled explosion by Scotland Yard dealing with what they believe may have been a “hoax device”.
“We can confirm the 'loud bang' reported in the area a short time ago was a controlled explosion carried out by officers,” the Metropolitan Police said in a post on X.
“Initial indications are that the item was a hoax device. An investigation will now follow. Some cordons will remain in place for the time being but the majority of the police response will now be stood down,” it added.
