Lucknow, Apr 30 (IANS): Departmental action is being initiated against 70 officials who did not turn up for the training of presiding and polling officers held here.

District Magistrate Surya Pal Gangwar has now directed action against all such officials.

The district magistrate, who took stock of the first day of the training session on Monday, directed the respective departments to take strict action against the officials under the relevant sections of the Representation of the People Act.

According to the district magistrate, the training is aimed at providing a comprehensive understanding of the polling process and the guidelines that need to be adhered to for holding free and fair elections.

Gangwar noted that a total of 3,200 officials are to be trained. “There are two batches of officials being trained in two shifts. Each shift has around 1,600 officials. We had previously issued warning to the officials that attendance is a must because, during these trainings, officials will learn several strategies to mitigate issues that may arise on the day of polling,” Gangwar noted.

During the training, the officials were made aware of the functioning of the EVMs and VVPATs. Besides, they were also made aware of what to do in case EVMs appear to be damaged.