EC announces refreshments to all on-duty polling officers

To facilitate each policeman and paramilitary forces deployed at all the counting booths on 16 May, the Election Commission has announced to fund refreshments for the officials on the counting day. Earlier, it was managed by local police stations that provided refreshments for the on-duty police officers.

After getting complaints regarding problems that the officials face on polling days and on the counting day, the Election Commission has taken a special note of this and for the first time it has come up with such an initiative. 

Vijay Dev, CEO Election Commission said, ‘Our prime concern is that the entire staff including police personnel must get refreshments on time. To take care of the services, Regional Officer has been made responsible along with DCPs and other senior officials.’

Before this announcement was made, the on-duty staff was instructed to arrange their own food for the entire day. But the local police used to make refreshment arrangements for them. 

SBS Tyagi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (New Delhi) said, ‘We used to arrange snacks, water and lunch for the deployed officials from the welfare fund which is the canteen fund.’ The refreshments arranged by the EC would consist of sandwiches, fruit juices, samosas and a sweet. This would be served thrice a day to the officials deployed on polling duty. 

Another senior police official added, ‘We are not duty bound to provide food to the officials who have been deployed at the booths. So, they do not have the right to complain against us, in case we do not feed them.’ Each staff member is given Rs 100 per day throughout on their election duty days. 

Speaking to Millennium Post, Ashok Kumar Singh, Joint Commissioner (P&I) said, ‘We have written a letter to the Election Commission to provide us funds to serve refreshments to police personnel along with other officials. Thus, the Chief Election Commissioner had sanctioned the proposal.’ As many as 20,000 officials including Delhi Police, CISF, CRPF have been deployed at all the seven counting booths.