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| A vehicle, fitted with loudspeakers, on a Cuttack street to campaign for a Congress candidate. Picture by Badrika Nath Das |
Cuttack, Feb. 1: A number of Independent candidates are feeling the pinch because of shortage of loudspeakers with requisite sound-limiters ahead of the civic polls here.
As major political parties, including the BJD, BJP and the Congress, have already booked sound-limiters and loudspeakers, the Independent candidates are running from pillar to post for the gadgets that are considered essential for poll campaigning.
Of the total 350 candidates in the poll fray, more than 150 are contesting as Independents. So far, more than 180 candidates have been issued necessary permission for use of loudspeakers for campaigning by police.
“Usually, the demand for loudspeakers goes up during election time. We also had to face problems in finding the appropriate sound system for the election campaigning,” said Sumitra Sahu, another Independent candidate from ward No. 38.
Sahu said that because of such scarcity, most Independent candidates were procuring the loudspeakers from Bhubaneswar.
“As use of loudspeaker has become an essential tool to reach out to voters through various poll songs, every candidate is keen to use such equipment for campaigning,” said Biswajita Jena, an Independent candidate from ward No 5. Jena said every candidate had to attach a copy of the money receipt, along with the copy of the supplier having a sound system with 65-decibel limit, before applying for necessary permission from the police.
At present, a candidate has to shell out anything between Rs 1,800 and Rs 2,500 for a set of loudspeakers while the cost of hiring an autorickshaw ranges from Rs 1,500 to 3,000 a day.
A candidate also has to shell out about Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 for battery, generator sets and inverters for operating machines of the sound systems.
“As a lot of individuals have already booked sound systems for various social ceremonies, including marriages, in this winter, we are now procuring systems from Bhubaneswar at a higher cost,” said P.C. Sahu, a sound system supplier.
Moreover, the candidates are also facing problems in obtaining permission for the use of loudspeakers for election campaigning.
A candidate has to deposit a photocopy of the driving licence of the driver of the vehicle to be used for campaign, along with a copy of insurance and other documents of the vehicle, to the election officer.
Later, the candidate has to apply for necessary permission for the use of loudspeakers to the deputy commissioner of police after obtaining necessary approvals from inspector in charge of local police station and the zonal assistant commissioner of police.