Tamil Nadu - Vellore

Officials protest delay in giving appointment orders for poll duty

— Photo: Special arrangement

TIMELY INTERVENTION: Police pacifying polling officials who are staging a road roko in front of Voorhees College in Vellore on Monday.

VELLORE: Teachers and government officials posted as presiding officers and polling officers for the May 13 Lok Sabha elections in the Vellore and Arakkonam constituencies, and who were asked to report for the training class at various polling stations for each of the 13 Assembly segments in Vellore district staged a road roko in different parts of the district to protest against the inordinate delay in the issue of appointment orders.

The presiding officers and polling officers who participated in the second training class on May 5 were asked by the District Collector-cum-District Electoral Officer C. Rajendran to report for the third training class at the specified venues for the various Assembly segments on Monday and receive the appointment orders, failing which they would be liable for action under Section 159 of the Representation of People Act 1951.

Heeding the Collector’s call, the various presiding officers and polling officers reported at the venues at times ranging from 8.30 a.m. to 10 a.m., but in most of the venues, no revenue official came till 12 p.m., while in many cases, the presiding officers including several women were made to run from pillar to post to receive their appointment orders.

A woman teacher of the Government Higher Secondary School, Kaniyambadi who was asked to report at the Thiruvalluvar Higher Secondary School, Gudiyatham went there at 8.30 a.m., but at 3 p.m., she was told by the revenue official present there to go over to Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Katpadi “as per the advice of her fellow teachers” to receive the appointment orders. She said that she got the order only at 5.45 p.m.

Another teacher of Government Muslim Higher Secondary School, Vellore said that he was first asked to go to the venue in Gudiyatham, but after going there, he was asked to go to Katpadi. Some teachers who went to Vaniyambadi were asked to go to Katpadi, travelling 70 km. Many women teachers who came with their children suffered without food or tea due to absence of a hotel in the vicinity of the venue.

The teachers said that they were on duty in several elections in the past, but in no election there was such confusion in issuing appointment orders.

Teachers and government officials who had reported at the Voorhees College, Vellore and the Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Katpadi staged a road roko on Officers’ Line and Chittoor Road in front of the respective venues, while those who had reported at the Government Boys Higher Secondary School, Katpadi blocked the road at the junction of the Chittoor Road and the road leading to the school in the evening protesting against the inordinate delay in the issue of appointment orders specifying the polling stations where they had to report by 12 p.m. on Tuesday. They dispersed after being pacified by police officials.

Mr. Rajendran, Vellore Collector, told The Hindu that owing to the delay in generating the appointment orders through the computer, the whole process took time. In a press release later in the evening, the Collector said that the appointment orders would be issued to the presiding and polling officers throughout Vellore district at the Thanthai Periyar Government Institute of Technology (TPGIT) at Vellore at 7 a.m. on Tuesday, since the orders had to be issued in the presence of the Returning Officers as per the rules of the Election Commission.

Arrangements for breakfast and lunch have been made at the venue, and arrangements have also been made for the transport of the poll officials from TPGIT to their respective duty destinations through 120 special buses.

The appointment orders issued on Monday to some officers have been cancelled, and they would be issued fresh orders on Tuesday, according to the Collector.

At Tirupattur, teachers on election duty staged a road roko on Krishnagiri Main Road as they had not received their order.

Even road roko was witnessed outside Islamiah College at Vaniyambadi and on the National Highways Road just opposite to the Hindu Higher Secondary School at Ambur. In both these places road roko was staged for about 30 minutes.

Tirupattur Sub-Division Sub-Collector Hanish Chaabra said that their order to report on duty would be issued at the Periyar Polytechnic at Vellore on Tuesday. He said travel arrangements have been made for this purpose.

The teachers immediately squatted on the Krishnagiri Main Road wanting the duty order to be issued at the Taluk Office itself. The teachers said they did not intend to go to Vellore.

However, after some of the representatives had a meeting with the Sub-Collector, the teachers were requested to be present at the Taluk Office at 5.30 a.m. on Tuesday to go to Vellore to get their orders to report on duty at the designated polling booths.

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