Counting of panchayat poll votes begins

LUCKNOW: Counting of panchayat polls votes began peacefully in Lucknow and across the state. In the state capital, counting centres were set up at all the blocks of the districts. The votes were cast in the elections of village pradhans and members of village panchayats. According to officials of the district administration, counting started at around 7am.
In order to keep a close eye on mischief-mongers and anti-social elements, the Lucknow district administration also deployed drone cameras, which captured images of the counting centres. District magistrate Raj Shekhar said, “Counting is going on peacefully throughout the district. So far, no post poll violence has been reported.” He added that by 6.30pm on Saturday, counting was complete in Chinhat and Gosaiganj blocks.
The DM also informed that only authorised counting agents with I-cards were allowed to enter the premises at their designated time. Each room had one to two HD CCTVs to display the counting process and to ensure free, fair and peaceful counting. “All kinds of victory processions have been banned,” the DM said and added that traffic police was deployed for smoother traffic movement around the centres located on state and national highways.