Polling stations have been set up in 69 housing complexes across the state, several of them in Calcutta and adjoining districts, that go to the polls on Wednesday.

According to Election Commission sources, 57 of the 69 housing complexes are hosting polling stations on their premises for the first time.

Out of these, six housing complexes are in Calcutta, and several others are in the urban areas of North and South 24-Parganas, Howrah and Hooghly, said sources.

For the hundreds of housing complexes without polling stations on their premises, the Commission has decided to keep a close watch on the routes leading from the apartments to the booths. “Central forces will patrol these stretches, and CCTV cameras will be installed to deter any threat or intimidation,” a poll panel source said.

The poll panel has also directed the state police and Kolkata Police to station two central paramilitary personnel along with local police at the entrance of every housing complex, and to make public announcements urging voters to step out and vote “without fear or worry.”

Polling officials began setting up polling facilities within housing complexes on Tuesday afternoon.

The six housing complexes in Calcutta are spread out across 11 Assembly constituencies, with most hosting the facility for the first time.

“We have 952 voters and a single booth has been set up inside Urbana. We have provided the club for the polling station, and all club activities will remain suspended on Wednesday,” said Uday Mukhopadhyay, technical committee head of the Urbana Apartment Owners’ Association.

A police team at the booth at Asha Co-operative, under the Rashbehari constituency

Urbana is part of the Kasba Assembly constituency.

“The polling station was about a five-minute walk from the apartment earlier. This time, residents can step out of their flats, vote and return quickly,” Mukhopadhyay said.

Ranendra Chrestien, secretary of the Silver Spring Apartment Owners’ Association in the Entally Assembly constituency, said the Election Commission approached them in the early weeks of the special intensive revision (SIR), which began in Bengal in late October.

“We put the proposal before our board, which accepted it. After receiving our nod, Commission officials visited the housing complex multiple times,” he said.

The polling station at Silver Spring is an all-women booth, with both polling officials and paramilitary personnel being women.

Central armed paramilitary forces arrived in most of the housing complexes by Tuesday morning. The polling officials — presiding officer and polling officers — started arriving in the afternoon.

“The polling officials leave for polling booths on the day before polling. They collect EVMs and other polling material from the distribution centres. They stay over at the polling station at night,” said a poll panel source.

The Election Commission had asked residents’ welfare associations in all concerned housing complexes about basic facilities, including a room for officials to stay overnight, access to washrooms, a space large enough to serve as a polling booth, and suitable locations to install CCTV cameras.

The six housing complexes in Calcutta with polling stations are: Active Acres and Silver Spring in Entally; Lake District in Beleghata; Arjun Apartment in Maniktala (it will have two polling stations); South City in Rashbehari (it will have two polling stations); and Asha Co-operative in Rashbehari.

Polling stations will also be set up on the premises of eight housing complexes in Rajarhat New Town and Bidhannagar Assembly constituencies.

The polling stations in New Town will be set up at Uniworld City-1, Uniworld City-2, Rosedale Gardens and Shukhobrishti.

The housing complexes in Bidhannagar Assembly constituency where polling stations will be set up are Avani Oxford, Shyam Lake Garden, Ujjas Complex and Brijdham Complex.