Alipurduar to procure about 500 vehicles from neighbouring dists

Alipurduar: The shortage of vehicles for transporting polling personnel during the Lok Sabha elections in Alipurduar is a pressing issue. To tackle this, the district administration plans to procure around 500 vehicles from other places, seeking assistance from Assam-Siliguri.

Given Alipurduar’s rugged terrain, small vehicles are preferred over large ones. However, the district lacks enough small vehicles for election duties. To address this, an exchange system will be implemented, with vehicles sourced from neighbouring districts like Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri in exchange for government and private buses from Alipurduar. Alipurduar District Magistrate R Vimala stated: “There is a lack of vehicles to transport poll workers to conduct the election in Alipurduar Lok Sabha constituency. Usually, the neighbouring districts of Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri compensate for this deficiency. This year, elections in Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar and Alipurduar are being held simultaneously. Therefore, we have already coordinated with Siliguri and the neighbouring state of Assam to address the shortage of vehicles. Several vehicles will be sent from there to Alipurduar during polling.”

Owing to the district’s topography, which include rivers, mountains and forests, it is not feasible to use large vehicles such as buses in most polling booths. Small vehicles are required to reach polling stations in remote areas of the district for polling personnel and Central Forces. However, the neighbouring districts of Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri do not face the same geographical constraints.

Therefore, the small vehicles needed for this election will be sourced from these two districts, with large government and private buses being sent from Alipurduar district to reciprocate the assistance. The Transport department estimates a need for about 350 to 400 vehicles, including 100 small buses, passenger cars and maxi cabs. Poor road conditions, especially in tea plantations, pose challenges for large buses, compounded by the high number of booths in these areas.