Dehradun, Oct 20 The Dehradun district administration has begun preparations to conduct the upcoming 2027 Assembly elections in a fair, transparent, and well-organised manner.
A meeting in this regard was held by District Magistrate Ashish Chauhan with district administration officials on Monday.
Chauhan said 2,045 polling booths have been designated across Dehradun’s 10 Assembly constituencies, with 766 booths in rural areas and 1,279 in urban areas.
Highlighting that 65 polling stations in Dehradun are likely to experience snowfall in February, he instructed them to prepare contingency plans for such areas to ensure that election-related arrangements there remain undisturbed.
After the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, Dehradun has a total of 11,94,797 voters: 6,17,041 men; 5,77,706 women; and 50 transgender persons. The district includes 10,201 persons with disabilities and 7,845 voters aged 85 and above.
Chauhan instructed all sub-divisional magistrates to ensure basic amenities, such as electricity, drinking water, ramps and sheds, at all polling stations within their respective jurisdictions. He directed them to verify the names of the polling stations and, for centres housing four to five booths, to arrange separate entry and exit routes for voters.
In Dehradun, seven polling stations in the Mussoorie region and 12 in the Chakrata region currently fall within shadow areas, which are zones with poor or no network coverage. Chauhan issued directions to take the necessary steps to ensure network connectivity in these locations.
As Dehradun shares borders with the Sirmaur and Shimla districts of Himachal Pradesh, Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, and four other districts within Uttarakhand, officials were directed to set up checkposts at inter-state borders, form flying squad and video surveillance teams, and initiate their training. The district magistrate also emphasised developing an effective monitoring system in border areas to prevent the smuggling of cash and liquor.
As part of the pre-poll preparations, the First Level Checking (FLC), or a technical inspection of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), will begin in Dehradun on October 23. The district magistrate has urged representatives of political parties to be present during the FLC to ensure transparency in the electoral process.
“The First Level Checking of EVMs is a crucial preliminary step in the election process. This involves a technical examination of the hardware and software of the machines to ensure their smooth, error-free operation and to eliminate any concerns regarding the reliability of data recording. This process is vital for upholding the integrity and transparency of the electoral system, as well as ensuring the reliability of the EVMs,” said Chauhan.
He further explained that once the FLC is completed, the EVMs will undergo randomisation based on assembly constituencies. Subsequently, in the presence of an election observer, the machines will be randomised again through software and allocated to specific polling booths. This procedure will help maintain fairness and transparency in the electoral process, in accordance with established protocols, he said.
(PTI News)
