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Tripura provides insurance cover for poll personnel

The Tripura government has decided to bring under insurance cover all polling and security personnel to be deployed for the October 3 Lok Sabha election in the insurgency ridden state.

State assistant electoral officer Gobinda Bhattacharjee told reporters today that as per the scheme, if any person, involved in polling or security duty, died or sustained injuries while on election duty, compensation of Rs 1 lakh would be given. This was in addition to the government's scheme providing financial or other benefits in case its employee died or was killed by militants. Drivers of hired private vehicles would also be brought under the scheme, Bhattacharjee said, adding that for the first time such a scheme had been initiated in Tripura.

The state government had made an agreement in this regard with the National Insurance Company Limited, he added. More than 16,000 polling personnel would be appointed to conduct the election in the state. Thousands of paramilitary and other security personnel would also be deployed to hold the election in a free, fair and peaceful manner, Bhattacharjee added.

Considering the insurgency, 587 of the total 2,367 polling stations had been identified as 'hyper-sensitive' and 'sensitive'. The first batch of polling personnel would leave for their destination in the interior areas on October 1. They have to walk about 30 km and use country boats to reach the stations. Paramilitary personnel would be deployed in all the hyper sensitive and sensitive booths. The Union government would send 26 companies of additional paramilitary forces to the state.

UNI

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