48 polling stations in West Bengal damaged by Cyclone Remal: Official

Kolkata: In all, 48 polling stations, mostly located in North and South 24 Parganas districts of West Bengal, were damaged due to the impact of Cyclone Remal, a senior poll official said on Monday. The disaster also adversely affected preparations for the upcoming seventh and final phase of polling scheduled on June 1, he added.

"Most of these polling stations have been badly hit by the cyclone. They are submerged in water or have sustained other types of damage," the official told PTI.

Polling for the nine Lok Sabha seats - Dum Dum, Barasat, Basirhat, Jaynagar, Mathurapur, Diamond Harbour, Jadavpur, Kolkata Dakshin, and Kolkata Uttar - is scheduled on Saturday. Among these, several assembly constituencies under Diamond Harbour and Basirhat seats were hit by the cyclonic storm.


Chief electoral officer Ariz Aftab held a telephonic meeting with the district magistrates of the affected districts, including those where polling is scheduled for Saturday, to assess the extent of the damage caused by the cyclone.

"The CEO sought a detailed report from them and directed them to expedite pumping out rainwater and make the polling stations fit to host polling on June 1. He has also directed them to conduct repair works on a wartime basis," the official said.

The Election Commission also directed its officials in the district to look into the condition of strongrooms in all districts, he said.

"Election officers in these districts have been directed to inspect the safety and security arrangements of the strongrooms," he added.