Border areas sealed as Nagaland preps for assembly polls
Nagaland’s inter-state borders and international border areas with Myanmar have been sealed to intensify security and to ensure a peaceful polling
With two days to go for the assembly polls, Nagaland’s inter-state borders and international border areas with Myanmar have been sealed to intensify security and to ensure a peaceful polling.
Additional director general of police (ADG) Sandeep M Tamgadge, who is also in-charge of law and order, said the state is coordinating with the neighbouring states of Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur to ensure that the borders are sealed two days prior to voting so that any outside elements coming inside the state to create trouble would be checked.
In the international border, the Assam Rifles deployed along the border areas has enhanced security during the election process. The official added that the state’s village guards have been requested to provide environment security along with the Assam Rifles in the districts bordering Indo-Myanmar border including Mon, Shamator, Noklak, Kiphire and Meluri districts.
Additional security is being deployed at one polling station in Longleng district (Ladigarh PS) which is located in a disputed area with Assam, Tamgadge said. In the past, polling officials were barred from entering the polling station premises by the Assam police and re-polling used to be conducted in a makeshift polling station. This time, it is learnt that with the intervention of the Election Commission of India (ECI), an alternate polling station is being arranged to avoid any standoff between the neighbouring states’ forces and polling may be conducted peacefully.
The ADG said law and order is in place and though there were apprehensions of poll-related violence in Mokokchung and Wokha districts due to some reports in the past few days, the situation is under control and the polling process would hopefully go smoothly.
A total 305 companies of police and security forces are in place to ensure a peaceful conduct of the polls.
The state has a total of 13,17,632 electors. Polling will be conducted in 2,315 polling stations across the state. As per the latest updates, there are 680 vulnerable and 940 critical polling stations.
The polling for the 60-member Nagaland legislative assembly will be held on Monday. The counting of votes will take place on March 2.