'Voters in containment zones to be allowed to cast franchise during last hr of polling at stn'

KOLKATA: Voters residing in the containment zone shall be allowed to cast his/her franchise in the last hour of poll at his/her respective polling station, as per instructions by the state Election Commission (SEC) on Wednesday.

Their voting will be done under the supervision of the nodal health officer assigned for the municipal corporation concerned, with proper COVID-19 preventive measures. Elections in four municipal corporations- Asansol, Bidhannagar, Chandannagar and Siliguri is scheduled to be held on January 22. "The COVID-19 cases across the state are showing an upward trend and the administration is demarcating certain areas and putting it under containment to stop the spread of COVID-19. Similar areas are existing in the four municipal corporations too where voting is going to be held. So we have come out with such instructions for voters in containment zone," a senior SEC official said.

Sector officers will be responsible for co-ordination and facilitation during the voting exercise under containment zones. The voters, who are positive, will also be allowed to vote in the last hour on the election day in similar fashion as in Kolkata Municipal Corporation polls held last month.