Paid holiday sanctioned on November 25
Bhopal: On the directives of Election Commission of India, paid holiday has been sanctioned to employees of business, commercial and industrial establishments on polling day November 25. In this regard, CEO Office has issued instructions to General Administration and labour Departments. Quoting directives of the commission, attention has been drawn towards provisions of Representation of People Act, 1951 which provides for paid holiday to employees on polling day. According to the Act no deduction will be made from wages of concerning worker due to sanction of paid holiday. Violation of the Act’s provisions will entail fine upto Rs 500. This provision will not apply to an elector whose absence may lead to danger or substantive loss to the establishment where he is employed. Provision of paid holiday will also apply to all establishments and shops which function in shifts. It has been clarified that if resident of a constituency who is registered as elector there and works in an industrial establishment or undertaking outside the constituency such casual workers will also be entitled for paid holiday on polling day.
As per provisions of Representation of People Act, 1951, daily wagers/casual workers will also be entitled to paid holiday on polling day. Office of the Chief Electoral Officer has directed to inform all concerning departments and offices about the commission’s directives.
Guv pays tribute to ex-PM Indira Gandhi
Bhopal: Governor Ram Naresh Yadav administered pledge of National Integrity on the occasion of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s birth anniversary at Raj Bhavan here on Tuesday. Yadav paid tributes to late Gandhi by garlanding her photograph. Governor Yadav administered pledge to keep country united and strengthen it with dedication. Yadav also administered pledge to officers and employees not to resort to violence and solve all religious, linguistic, regional political, economic and other disputes peacefully through democratic means. Principal Secretary Raj Bhavan Vinod Semwal, law Officer CC, Trivedi, Deputy Secretary Shailendra Kiyawat and senior officers and employees of all sections were present on the occasion.
National Integrity pledge administered
Bhopal: National Integrity Pledge was administered to officers and employees at Mantralaya park here today. Additional Chief Secretary Panchayats, Rural Development and Social Justice Aruna Sharma administered the pledge. Principal Secretary General Administration K Suresh, other Principal Secretaries, Secretaries and officers of Vallabh Bhavan, Satpura and Vindhyachal buildings were also present on the occasion.
CEO reviews security arrangements of dists
Bhopal: Effective security arrangements are being made for Vidhan Sabha elections in the State on November 25. Chief Electoral Officer Shri Jaideep Govind is reviewing security arrangements of all districts regularly. Over 2 lakh security personnel will be deployed to ensure free and fair polls in the state. Concrete security arrangements are being made in sensitive and hyper sensitive areas. As many as 58 companies of Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF/CPMF) will be deployed in districts. Of these, 23 companies have already arrived in the state in the first week of November and 25 more companies have arrived between November 14 and 18 including 15 from Jharkhand and 10 companies from Bihar. Remaining 500 companies will arrive in Madhya Pradesh after November 22. For ensuring free and fair elections, 30 thousand home guards from 6 states will also be deployed apart from 12,000 home guards of Madhya Pradesh. State’s 5,800 police officers and 33 thousand head constables/constables will also play significant role in ensuring free and fair elections. Besides, 91 companies of Special Armed Forces will also be deployed. In the state, 59,500 special police officers have also been deputed to ensure law & order.
Paragliding will rise voters’s participation
Bhopal: Paragliding is being used for creating voters’ awareness in an interesting way in the state. On the directives of Election Commission of India for increasing voters’ participation in electoral process, paragliding will be held at divisional headquarters from November 20.
Paragliding in Gwalior and Chambal divisions will be on November 20. In the series, paragliding will also be held at Bhopal and other divisional headquarters. Paragliding will conclude in the evening of November 25. Through paragliding for 3 hours, senior division level officers will drop pamphlets in crowded areas. They will also urge people through large banners and public announcement system to vote.
Over `3.50 lakh spent on Paid news
Bhopal: So far, expenses worth over Rs. 3.50 lakh on paid news included in erring candidates’ election expenses bank accounts. These include Rs 1.50 lakh in Sagar district, Rs 20,244 in Burhanpur, Jhabua Rs 60,000, Indore Rs 21,000, Datia, Rs 4300, Balaghat Rs 4900, Harda Rs 3136, Hoshangabad Rs 40,000, Chhatarpur Rs 23,212 Shivpuri Rs 12,000 and Shahdol Rs 2085. For monitoring paid news on electronic media, state and district level media certification and monitoring committees (MCMC) are maintaining intense 24X7 watch. It is noteworthy that on receipt of complaint from district-level MCMC, returning officer serves notice to concerning candidate within 96 hours. The same time-limit has also been prescribed for state level MCMC. In case candidates do not reply, decision of the state level committee is final. Candidates can appeal against state level MCMC’s decision to Election Commission within 48 hours. On the directives of Election Commission, C-Desk of Pune is keeping a keen eye on electioneering in social media. The agency has examined 2.28 lakh web pages of various websites from October 16. C-Desk has informed office of the Chief Electoral Officer regarding this. C-Desk is analysing data of online news and political parities’ websites data of online news and political parities’ websites through a special software data of online news and political parities’ websites by the agency.
‘need to educate people about democracy’
Bhopal: The Courtyard by Marriott has taken an initiative to educate and appeal its guests about the right and responsibility of exercising their franchise. The Hotel is using its TV Display, IPADs and Envelopes with a message to Cast Your Vote. These messages are displayed around lift, MoMoCafe, Éclair- the Bakery Shop, Ball Rooms and in the guest’s room as well. According to Hotel’s room operation manager Amey Narkar, understanding the need to educate people about importance of their democratic right and responsibility the hotel has come up with this idea. The guests coming to hotel are appreciating it.
‘coffee festival’ launched in city
Bhopal: ‘Coffee Festival’ was launched in the State capital on Tuesday. Four cafes in Bhopal will be hosting the festival for a month till December, 20, the CCD cafés at DB City, lakecity, Malviya Nagar and Patel Complex. Consumers can walk into any of these outlets and learn how to make a cuppa using simple coffee making tools like the ‘French Press’ and ‘Stovetop Espresso’ right in the comfort of their homes. To add to this is the ‘Coffee Day WakeCup’, a coffee brewing system using capsule technology that produces a glorious cup of coffee in just 30 seconds. A first look of the Coffee Festival was held at the CCD café at lakecity, Bittan Market in Arera Colony, Bhopal on Tuesday.