TEZPUR, March 25 - Though the administration here is trying hard to conduct the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in Sonitpur district in an error-free and peaceful manner, mismanagement and shortage of manpower have more or less hampered the whole process of electioneering.
Sources in the DC�s office have revealed that the NIC department has utterly failed to manage the system, resulting in the awkward situation.
Till date, there is a shortage of over 600 personnel for the election-related duties as many of the government employees here are engaged in NRC duty. On the other hand, many polling personnel, who need to undergo training for the upcoming election, have been busy in DElEd examination.
An officer of the NIC department here, who didn�t want to be named, mentioned that in a letter issued from the Office of the Commissioner and Secretary to the Government of Assam, the Elementary and Secondary Education department, Dispur has sought exemption from duty for those teachers who are appearing in such examinations.
As the poll will be held here on April 11 in the first phase, the polling officials here must undergo training at the earliest. �Besides this, there are many polling personnel in the district who have sought exemption from the poll duty on medical and some other special grounds, which has compounded the problem to a great extent,� said the official.
Meanwhile, a section of polling officials here have alleged that this time the master trainers have failed to impart election duty related training properly to the polling personnel due to various reasons like shortage of manpower and technical faults in EVMs, etc.
�They should be replaced with expert trainers, and the next training should be given in a technically error-free manner,� said a polling official here on the condition of anonymity.
