Staff Correspondent
JORHAT, Feb 10: The holding of elections in the State will decide the fate of political parties with some getting the reins of power in Dispur and others biting the dust, but the schools without electricity across the State which will be used as polling stations are going to benefit as such schools will be provided permanent power supply connections this time.
It may be mentioned here that during earlier polls, temporary power connections were provided to schools without electricity that were selected as polling centres.
When contacted, Jorhat Election Officer Dinsengfa Boruah told The Assam Tribune on Wednesday that as per discussions held between the Chief Secretary and Assam Power Distribution Company Limited (APDCL) top officials recently in Guwahati, a decision was taken to provide permanent power connections to schools selected as polling stations.
Boruah said the initiative was part of the Assured Minimum Facilities required to be provided in a polling centre as per Election Commission of India guidelines.
She said that as per the decision taken in the meeting held between the Chief Secretary and the power company (APDCL) officials, the connections to be provided to the schools this time will be done in a full-fledged manner so that electricity supply could be continued after polling and used by the institutes as per the requirements.
The Election Officer stated that district administrations were asked to coordinate with the respective local APDCL authorities to carry out work in providing the permanent electricity connections.
The CEO of APDCL, Jorhat Electric Circle comprising Jorhat, Majuli districts and part of Golaghat, Mukut Das told this newspaper that as per the directive of higher authorities of the company and the list provided by the district administration, fresh permanent electricity connections will be provided to 363 schools selected as polling stations across the Jorhat Electric Circle.
