Bhubaneswar: With few hours left for Nuapada by-poll, the polling teams have left by helicopter towards the Maoist-affected booths located in the Sunabeda jungle.
According to sources, strict vigilance is being maintained over eight Maoist-prone booths located inside the Sunabeda Sanctuary. Special helicopters of the Air Force have been arranged to transport the polling parties to these booths.
Out of the total booths, 101 have been classified as sensitive and 57 as hyper-sensitive. Special focus is on 16 booths located in the dense Sunabeda jungle — 8 in Sosenk Panchayat and 8 in Sunabeda Panchayat — which fall under direct Maoist influence and are historically prone to electoral disruptions. To ensure smooth and secure voting in these inaccessible and high-threat zones, the Election Commission, in coordination with the district administration and security forces, has deployed unprecedented measures.
As per the measures, Indian Air Force helicopters will airlift polling teams in 4 special sorties, with 2 teams per flight. Upon landing, personnel will be escorted by elite CRPF, BSF, and Odisha Police SOG commandos to the polling stations. Each team has been issued a Jio SIM card (the only functional network in the area) for real-time communication. Hourly status updates will be taken from all teams to monitor safety and operational challenges.
Eric Gilbert Jose, chief commandant of CRPF, said, “Do not be afraid. All kinds of security measures have been taken by the CRPF. Keeping the election in mind, search operations were conducted much earlier. CRPF has area dominance in sensitive regions. There is no Maoist threat. Since it is a jungle area, they might come in hiding. Forces are deployed keeping this in mind. Under no circumstances can Maoists reach near the booths. Outer area forces have been deployed at every booth. The security arrangements have been made completely airtight. The election will be held peacefully and safely. Security has been arranged in such a way that Maoists cannot create any kind of unpleasant situation.”
