Phulbani (Odisha):
Adequate arrangements have been made for counting of votes in the by-election to sensitive Kandhamal Lok Sabha in Odisha constituency on Sunday amid tight security, officials said on Saturday.
The counting would be held in seven counting centres at five places. The Maoist-hit Lok Sabha constituency comprises seven Assembly segments of Phulbani, Balliguda, G
Udayagiri, Boudh, Kantamal, Daspalla and Bhanjanagar.
Counting of votes of Balliguda and G Udayagiri assembly segments will take place at Balliguda. Similarly, counting for Boudh and Kantamal assembly constituencies will be held at Boudh. Counting for Phulbani, Daspalla and Bhanjanagar segments will be held in the respective towns, according to Kandhamal district Collector, N Tirumala Nayak.
A total of seven candidates are in the fray in the by-election which was held on October 15. The election was necessitated following demise of newly-elected Biju Janata Dal MP Hemendra Chandra Singh last month.
In order to maintain law and order and to prevent any untoward incident during the counting, a three-tier security arrangement has been made, Kandhamal Superintendent of Police K B Singh said.
Barricades have been erected at a distance of 100 metres from the centres to prevent movement of people into the counting areas, police said.