Election Commission of India Reviews Poll Preparedness for Haryana Legislative Assembly Elections 2024

Meeting held in Gurugram with Divisional Commissioners, IGPs, Deputy Commissioners -cum- DEOs, Police Commissioners, SPs, Municipal Commissioners, General Observers, Expenditure Observers and Police Observers of 11 districts

Chandigarh, September 23 – To review the action taken on the directions of the Election commission of India issued to the authorities involved in the election process during its visit to the state of Haryana on August 12-13, 2024, a team of Senior officers from the Election Commission of India held a meeting today with Divisional Commissioners, IG Police range, Deputy Commisioners-cum-DEOs, Police Commissioners and SPs, MC Commissioner, General Observers, Police Observers and Expenditure Observers from 11 districts regarding preparedness of ongoing General Election to Haryana Vidhan Sabha – 2024.

The team included Deputy Election Commissioner Mr. Hridesh Kumar, Secretary Mr. KP Singh, Principal Secretary Mr. Avinash Kumar and Mr. SB Joshi. The meeting was held in the presence of Haryana's Chief Electoral Officer Mr. Pankaj Agarwal and State Police Nodal Officer Mr. Saurabh Singh.

The Commission led by Sh. Rajiv Kumar, Chief Election Commissioner had then taken the review of the administrative, logistics, law and order, and election-related arrangements with the Chief Electoral Officer and State Police Nodal Officer. The commission had directed to ensure conduct of free and fair elections by maintaining good law and order situation. It had stressed to maintain good health of the electoral roll with the removal of dead and shifted voters. Further, it directed to provide minimum assured facility at the pooling booths along with conducive environment to encourage voters turnout. DEOs were directed to be equally accessible to all the political parties and to resolve promptly the grievances related to various election related activities.

In today’s meeting, Shri Hirdesh Kumar, Deputy Election Commissioner reviewed the marking of electoral rolls, time plan for preparing ASD (Absentee, shifted, Duplicate or Dead) lists, distribution of voter slips, Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) distribution and addressing any major complaint related to electoral rolls. He stated that the printing of pending EPIC cards should be pursued with the printer and the EPIC cards should be distributed by 30th Sep. The BLOs can be engaged for ensuring the compliance of this task. The marked copy of voters lists should be prepared as per the instructions. Also the copies of the electoral rolls handed over to the candidates should match with the marked electoral rolls.

The team emphasized the importance of ensuring that all polling stations are fully equipped with the necessary facilities. He instructed District Commissioners-cum-DEOs and SPs to personally inspect polling stations to verify the availability of essential facilities. The Commission emphasised that the Voter Facilitation Booths should be set up by the BLOs at each polling stations. Proper sitting arrangements have to be made to facilitate the voters standing in queues.

The team cited the need for webcasting from all polling stations. For ensuring better monitoring, cameras of high resolution should be used and they should be positioned in a way that these cover the polling stations properly for effective surveillance. At the same time the secrecy of voting should not be compromised. The DEOs briefed the Election Commission regarding the setup of special model polling booths. These include ‘pink booths’ staffed entirely by women employees, youth employees managed booths, and booths overseen by persons with disabilities (PwD) employees. After gathering information from all the officials, instructions were given to ensure proper arrangements for the accommodation and meals of the polling parties. Additionally, appropriate provisions for healthcare services should also be made.

The police authorities briefed about the security arrangements for ensuring a good law and order situation. The team expressed its satisfaction over the deployment of the central forces and other security arrangements. However, it stressed immediate action for better surveillance of the border areas in cordination with police of the neighbouring states.He instructed the concerned officials to establish mirror checkpoints in interstate districts along the borders with neighboring states, in accordance with the police manual.

The team noticed that the seizures done so far are not satisfactory. It emphasised to rework the strategy, monitor the working of different Flying Squad Surveillance Teams and Static Surveillance Teams. Faridabad, Sonipat and Gurugram district were directed to make special efforts regarding this. The police officers assured that effective steps would be taken to increase surveillance and enhance seizures.

The commission at the same time cautioned not to cause unnecessary public inconvenience while performing these duties. For monitoring the cash flow daily bank reports has to be scrutinised at the DEO level by placing some experienced persons on the task.

The Commission also cautioned that while performing these duties, inconvenience to the public should be minimized. The team reviewed the preparations related to counting centers, postal ballots, and the training of polling staff. District election officers provided updates on these issues.

Chief Electoral Officer Mr. Pankaj Agarwal said that for home voting, provisions will be made for PwD voters and voters over the age of 85 under the supervision of the RO, with videography of the process. He added that training for election officials must be ensured, and other requirements such as transportation facilities for PwD voters and voters over 85 years of age should be provided wherever necessary.

The team further reiterated that maximum efforts should be made at both the local and state levels to increase voter turnout. The meeting also covered information about polling stations, theme polling stations, queue management, and counting arrangements. They reviewed the plans from each district aimed at increasing voter percentage.

At the conclusion of the meeting, they emphasized that all efforts should be made to ensure free and fair elections. The districts included in the meeting were Faridabad, Nuh, Palwal, Gurugram, Mahendragarh, Rewari, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, Jhajjar, Rohtak, and Sonipat.
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Paid holiday for employees in shops and commercial establishments on October 5


Chandigarh, September 23 – In light of the upcoming general elections to the Haryana Legislative Assembly 2024, a paid holiday will be granted to employees working in shops and commercial establishments on October 5, 2024.

This notification has been issued by the Haryana Labour Department under the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958 (Punjab Act 15 of 1958), ensuring that registered voters in Haryana can exercise their right to vote.

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Haryana Tourism Department celebrating world tourism day with a global spirit of “Tourism and Peace”

Programs will be held on September 27 and 28, 2024

Chandigarh, September 23- To mark this World Tourism Day on September 27, 2024 Haryana is geared up to celebrate this special day with 2 days of fun filled, adventurous and culinary treats for its patrons, visitors and tourists.

Haryana Tourism is bringing together people from various walks of life , age groups and backgrounds on exciting platforms such as Trekking, food festivals, religious tours and heritage exploration in the region. Haryana has much to offer to visitors and tourists alike and since it is a state which has so much to explore in various aspects such as nature, culture, and heritage, there is a vast potential for tourists to come and experience in this dynamic state where rural ethos meet urban sophistication.

Speaking on the occasion Principal Secretary, Heritage and Tourism, Government of Haryana, Ms. Kala Ramachandran, stated that “We are taking this opportunity on world tourism day to present a bouquet of activities ranging from food festivals, heritage walks, religious tours to trekking expeditions across Haryana for tourists and enthusiasts alike and we hope Haryana will shine on the tourism map with such initiatives. Keeping in view the theme of this World Tourism Day which is ‘Tourism and Peace’, we have made earnest efforts to ensure that the essence of this day is recognized through our activities and events. ”

Haryana Tourism will be organizing food festivals across its Tourists Resorts for food aficionados and explorers of the culinary world. Hotel Rajhans, Faridabad has donned the royal robe and will be showcasing the flavours from the land of Nawabs with cuisines from Awadh and Lucknow. Apart from the cuisines classical ghazal and sufi artists will add to the enchantment of the royal ambiance on September 27 and 28 , 2024.

Aromas from the hills and mountains will pull you towards Red Bishop Tourist Resort, Panchkula where a unique Food Festival called ‘Cuisines from the Hills’ awaits food enthusiasts. The enigmatic cuisines from Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Ladakh and Tibet are being curated for this world tourism day. The Himalayan range is one the most beautiful mountainous regions in the world and has a rich and diverse culinary culture and it is this diversity that will be celebrated through the finest dishes being served at this great food festival. Apart from this, tourists will also be able to taste the sweets of Rajasthan and Gujarat at Karna Lake Resort in Karnal. Tilyar Tourist Resort, Rohtak is engaging in another gastronomic celebration with cuisines from Haryana and Punjab.

Also, Haryana tourism in collaboration with ISKCON is organizing a special tour of the Krishna Circuit where six divine destinations will be part of the religious tour. The tour will take the visitors to six places of significance such as Brahma Sarovar, Abhimanyupur, Surya Kund, Sthaneshwara Temple, Bhishma Kund and Jyotisar.

Not only religion but the heritage and history of Haryana is also being explored during the world tourism day. Two heritage walks are being organized in Pinjore. The heritage walk will be organised on September 27, 2024 by Haryana Tourism in collaboration with the Department of Archeology and Museums, Haryana. Participants will get a chance to soak in the history of the region heritage walks being organized in Pinjore and Panipat. The tours aim to acquaint people with the rich history and culture of Haryana.
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Haryana Farmers no longer need to wait at the Mandi Gate

Farmers can now generate their own Mandi Gate pass from home

By scanning a QR code or entering the self-generated gate pass number, farmers can enter the mandi directly

Chandigarh, September 23 - This season, farmers in Haryana will no longer need to wait in queue at the mandi gates for the procurement of paddy and other Kharif crops. The Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board (HSAMB) has introduced a new mobile app that allows farmers to generate their own digital gate passes from home, making the process more convenient for the farmers.

Sharing information in this regard an HSAMB spokesperson said that all farmers are requested to bring their produce to the mandis from next Tuesday, ensuring that the crops are properly dried to avoid any issues during the selling process.

The spokesperson stated that in the past, farmers often faced long waits at the mandi gates due to the requirement of gate passes. To address this inconvenience, HSAMB has implemented a new system that enables farmers to easily generate their digital gate passes via the mobile app from the comfort of their homes. Once the pass is downloaded, they will no longer need to collect any other gate pass at the mandi gate.

Farmers can now use the Android e-Kharid mobile application (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.ditech.ekharid.module) or visit the e-Kharid website/portal (ekharid.haryana.gov.in) to create their own mandi gate passes. The app also provides detailed information related to their produce, which reduces delays and paperwork. Also, through this app, farmers can view details of their gate passes, J-forms, and payment information at any time. They can also select their preferred mandi and date for bringing their verified agricultural produce and generate the gate pass accordingly, the spokesperson added.

The spokesperson said that due to this new system, farmers can directly enter the mandi by scanning the QR code displayed on their mobile app, printout, or PDF, or by entering the self-generated gate pass number. This will make the process of selling agricultural produce at the mandis faster and more efficient.

The spokesperson further stated that the e-Kharid app was developed to make agricultural procurement easier and more transparent for farmers. The self-gate pass module is an additional feature alongside the existing system. All farmers are encouraged to take advantage of this new service.

All procurement agencies have been given necessary directions about this app, which was developed by the e-Kharid team under the Department of Food, Civil Supplies, and Consumer Affairs. HSAMB has already trained its field officers on using the app, who will, in turn, train mandi employees and commission agents over the next four days to ensure that farmers face no inconvenience.