Visakhapatnam: All set for first phase of gram panchayat polling

Visakhapatnam: District Collector V Vinay Chand said that all arrangements were in place for the first phase of the panchayat elections to be held in the district on Tuesday.

In Anakapalle division, 44 village sarpanches were unanimously elected for 340 village sarpanch posts in 12 mandals. For the rest of 296 sarpanches, 767 candidates are competing in the polls. Of the total 3,250 ward members, 804 got unanimously elected and 5,260 candidates will compete in 2,446 wards.

Adequate staff was recruited to conduct polls in a peaceful and smooth manner. Along with the staff, the district administration has also laid its focus on providing required transport, polling material, protective gear such as PPE kits, masks, gloves, thermal scanners and sanitisers to the polling staff.

In Anakapalle division alone, 3,306 polling centres were set up and 3,939 ballot boxes were sent to the respective booths. Narsipatnam Assistant Superintendent of Police Tuhin Sinha visited polling stations in the sensitive areas of Elamanchili, Atchutapuram and Rambilli in Anakapalle division ahead of panchayat polls.