Planning to eat out or go shopping on Sunday during voting hours? Change your plans.
Shops, malls, retail outlets, food kiosks and restaurants in Jamshedpur will be closed on Sunday, May 12, between 7am and 4pm, till voting for the Lok Sabha elections is over. Medical shops, nursing homes and hospitals will stay open.
Issued by East Singhbhum DC Amit Kumar on Friday, the directive is meant to encourage voter turnout.
Deputy labour commissioner Rakesh Kumar told The Telegraph that five teams were formed on Saturday to execute the directive. “Each team, with a videographer, will be led by labour superintendents of respective areas for random inspection of market areas in and around the city between 7am and 4pm. If any establishment is found open in violation of the DC order, it would be fined Rs 500 and earn an FIR too,” he said.
He added videographers would record the open shop/establishment to be used as evidence of violation of Section 135B of the Representation of the People Act 1951.
In 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Jamshedpur recorded 66.33 per cent voter turnout. But with day temperatures around 42°C, the administration is worried if heat would keep people indoors.
Voter slip contest
Jamshedpur’s BJP candidate and sitting MP Bidyut Baran Mahto took part in door-to-door visits at Baharagora and Chakulia blocks on Saturday morning. “We will lead in all six Assembly segments. People have made up their mind to bring back Modi as PM,” Bidyut said. BJP supporters distributed voter slips in all six segments.
The Grand Alliance candidate and JMM Seraikela MLA Champai Soren on Saturday preferred to rest at his son’s house in Kadma while monitoring booth managements over the phone. JMM and Congress youth wings were seen distributing voter slips in residential areas.
CM in steel city
CM Raghubar Das arrived here on Saturday evening on a state-owned helicopter. He will cast his vote in Bhalubhasa Harijan High School on Sunday morning.
Cellphones banned
East Singhbhum DC Amit Kumar on Saturday said mobile phones would be banned within the 100-metre radius of every polling booth.