February 15, 2008	Friday	Safar 07, 1429

LAHORE, Feb 14: To spare police for handling any election-related violence, likely agitation by the boycotting political parties, and terrorism, the Punjab government is going to detail nearly 58,000 uniform-wearing employees of various departments at the polling stations `to ensure smooth voting’ on Feb 18.

"We have made the election security plan keeping in mind the three threats, and are detailing the employees of various departments who wear uniform to support police in maintaining peace at the polling stations," Chief Secretary Salman Siddique informed Dawn here on Thursday.

According to the security plan, the uniformed employees will help voters cast their votes without any difficulty or fear. Police too will perform the same duty but mainly concentrate on avoiding any untoward incident or handling affairs if at all something unwanted happens.

The chief secretary said the major concern of the government was to create an atmosphere wherein the voters could easily reach the polling stations and cast their votes unhindered. "We do not want any hurdle outside and within the polling stations," he said.

Elaborating the threat perception, he said the security plan had been made keeping in view traditional violence by the candidates or their supporters; the possibility of any agitation by the boycotting political parties which could prevent people from casting their votes and the most dangerous one -- terrorism.

For each of the threats, he said, separate security staff would be detailed which would independently handle the specific area. "The polling staff will not tackle the boycotting political workers and those for handling terrorism will not regulate polling," he said.

Rangers and army would be centrally located to provide timely and rapid support to police in maintaining law and order, or in case of any eventuality, he said. They would be around to provide handy help, he added.

According to the plan, there will be at least eight policemen at each of the nearly 38,000 polling stations in Punjab, as against the initially proposed strength of five, to avoid any lapse in the security arrangements. The number had also been increased to allow the policemen to take rest alternately.

All SHOs will separately keep a mobile watch on the polling stations in their respective areas of command, besides keeping an eye on miscreants outside the polling stations. They will work independent of the polling staff, keeping ready to meet any emergency and to call the required reinforcement without disengaging those manning the polling stations.

Each DSP will maintain a mobile watch in areas falling under two to three police stations and he will be supervised by the SP concerned.

Similarly, separate police will secure polling staff, the election-related material and documents, particularly ballots, and bring them to the returning officers concerned under their protection. They will ensure that the polling staff was not intimidated and the ballots not snatched.

The chief secretary said there were nearly 4,500 sensitive polling stations in the province where additional security arrangements would be made. The sensitivity had been assessed on the basis of past record of election-related violence at these polling stations, and the existing situation reported by the DCOs concerned, he added.

On top of that, the government would put more emphasis on security in the constituencies from where `heavy weights’ were contesting the election, he said and added the aim was to ensure peaceful polling, and protect the candidates who would definitely be present in their constituencies.

All DCOs have also been asked to keep the support services ready to handle any emergency. They include firefighting service, hospitals, and emergency ambulance service Rescue 1122 (if it is available in the district).