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No polling in 1301 booths in Vidisha and Hoshangabad

Polling will not take place tomorrow in Vidisha and Hoshangabad Lok Sabha constituencies of Madhya Pradesh, but on September 28, owing to the enormous flooding in the region.

He said election authorities were ''finding it difficult'' to hold polling in these booths as the poll parties did not reach their destinations in view of the flood caused due to heavy rains during the last few days. Pointing out that polling in remaining booths of these constituencies would be held tomorrow as scheduled, the spokesman said the new date of polling in these polling booths would be announced later. As many as 14 out of the 40 Lok Sabha constituencies in the state are scheduled to go to polls in the second phase of polling tomorrow.

Meanwhile, election authorities are concerned over the possibility of disruption of polling at several places due to heavy rains at least in three out of the 14 Lok Sabha constituencies going to polls on Saturday.

The state's chief electoral officer A K Vijayvargiya said he had apprised the Election Commission that poll parties could not reach about 1000 polling booths spread over five districts because of heavy rains during the last two days. He said polling personnel could not reach their destination in Hoshangabad, Vidisha, Damoh, Narsinghpur and Raisen districts due to road blockade at several places. There are at least 200 to 250 polling stations in each district facing this problem, he added.

Meanwhile, the Hoshangabad district administration has asked the state government to provide assistance of the army and helicopters in view of inundating Narmada river. District collector Ajay Tirkey told reporters that the water level in the river was 6.75 feet above the danger mark. The assistance had been sought as a precautionary measure, he said, adding that the information of only 16 out of 72 poll teams, which left the district yesterday, reaching their destination had been received so far.

The central election observer S S Kapoor said the Election Commission was being apprised of the situation every hour.

Road connection had been cut off in Guna district which went to polls in the first phase. A report from Raisen said the Narmada was in spate on national highway number 12. More than 100 houses in low-lying areas were inundated at Bareli because of heavy rainfall. The local administration had shifted nearly 200 families to safer places. For once, thanks to the elections, political parties were vying with each other to provide food to the affected families. Official sources said the Narmada was flowing several feet above the bridge due to opening of all the gates of Barna dam. The district headquarter remained cut off by road from neighbouring areas for the third consecutive day today. More than a dozen houses collapsed at Raisen due to incessant rains which had also caused a crack in the lower surface of historical fort of the town.

UNI

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