Mangaluru: Addressing media DK District Commissioner and district election officer Sasikanth Senthil S. informed that transport services will be provided for free to make sure people can travel to cast their vote.

He said that 160 buses would run on routes which usually have low frequency of buses. These special buses will have a sticker which says, ‘Election Special’. They will conduct three trips from morning to evening. Some of them will operate via election booths.

He also announced that Election Commission has now permitted the issuing of voter slips on the Election Day (May 12) outside the polling stations. People can avail them from the voters’ facilitation centers of the commission on the spot. However it is not mandatory to produce the slips for voting. If a voter’s name is on the voters’ list, he or she can produce EPIC or other documents specified by the EC.

Producing voter slips will help in identifying the serial number in the voters’ list easily. 70 % of the slips have been distributed to the voters.

Senthil said the district has 517 ‘critical’ polling booths and web cameras have been fixed at 97. Micro observers have been posted to 221 booths.

He said policewomen will screen burqa-clad women. Voters who arrive at the polling stations during closing hours (6 p.m.) and stand in queue will be issued slips and permitted to vote beyond 6 p.m.

He informed that the district has enough additional electronic voting machines and voter-verifiable paper audit trail machines.

The district has VVPATs in 40% excess for emergencies. A plus of 40 teams of six polling staff will be kept ready as well. The commission will supply food to the polling staff.