Poonachas on a different turf...

Might have heard of star campaigners during elections. How about star polling officers?

The famed sports couple, C S Poonacha and his wife Savitha Poonacha, will be on poll duties on Saturday. An international hockey player, Poonacha had represented India in the Barcelona Olympics, while his wife is a national-level athlete.

Poonacha, an SBI employee and Savitha, a government servant, have been deputed on poll duty in the Chamarajpet Assembly constituency.

During his rounds in the City to oversee poll arrangements, BBMP Commissioner G Kumar Naik visited several mustering centres, sensitive and hyper-sensitive polling stations.

At the Chamarajpet mustering centre, he bumped into Poonachas and was taken by surprise to learn about their sportive past. Poonacha told Naik that he has been encouraging 4,000-odd polling officers in his Centre to perform their duties loyally. A selfie and a photo-op concluded the meeting.

Satisfying preparedness
Kumar has expressed his satisfaction over the poll preparedness. “Our preparedness is complete. People should necessarily exercise their franchise to make a better Bengaluru,” he said.

The Palike faced an unprecedented challenge when at least 9,000 officers did not turn up for the poll-related training. The absenteeism compelled the Palike administration to issue public notices and warn them of stern action, including an FIR and cases under the Karnataka Civil Services Rules. Yet, only 320 officers turned up on Friday morning.

The Palike had to hire about 4,500 government officials from the neighbouring districts of Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru Rural to conduct polls. A majority of them, about 2,120, have been posted in the Ramanagara district.