Security stepped up in Mahottari in view of election

Security arrangements in Mahottari district have been beefed up in view of the November 20's parliamentary elections.

As silence hour enforced by the Election Commission of Nepal has been enforced since last midnight, the candidate hopefuls of the upcoming twin elections have stopped their election campaign and are engaged in internal decisions with their respective political parties' representatives.

Around 5,000 security personnel have been deployed in the district having 258 polling stations and 499 polling centres. They have been regularly patrolling all over the district for the voters to cast their ballot in a peaceful environment, according to the District Administration Office, Mahottari.

There are two temporary polling stations in the district.

Chief District Officer (CDO) in the district Deepak Pahadi urged, "We appealed to all voters to vote with confidence as we have beefed up security arrangement in the district. We have been repeatedly monitoring all polling centres in the district."

Altogether 4,500 election staffs (election officers, assistant election officers and other human resources) have been mobilized in the district hold the election in free, fair and impartial manner, informed Hem Bahadur Sen, Chief Election Officer in the district.

The National Investigation Office in Mahottari is also meticulously monitoring the security sensitive and security arrangement in the district. Among the total polling stations in the district, there are 143 highly sensitive ones, 114 sensitive and one general, according to CDO Pahadi.

Pahadi shared that security has been beefed up along the Nepal-India border in the district and regular patrols were being conducted within a distance of about 39 km from the border with India.

Two-way traffic along the border area has been stopped by the local government since Thursday midnight, he added.

There are four constituencies for House of Representatives and eight for the Province Assembly. A total of 229 candidates are vying in the both elections. The number of independent candidates stands at 136 here.

There are altogether 397,030 voters in the district, according to the District Election Office, Mahottari.