Dehradun, Apr 11 (IANS): Nearly 30 per cent voting was recorded till noon on Thursday for Uttarakhand's five Lok Sabha seats in the first phase of polling in parliamentary elections, an officer said.

"Till 12 noon, the voting percentage was nearly 30 per cent," said Saujanya, the state's Chief Electoral Officer.

Voting began at 7 a.m. and will end at 5 p.m.

A total of 78.56 lakh people are eligible to vote in the hill state where 52 candidates are in the fray for the five seats.

"Our forces are on the alert for a peaceful process," said Uttarakhand Director General of Police Anil Raturi.

Of the total 11,229 polling booths, 697 have been declared as vulnerable and 656 as critical. Most of the vulnerable and critical booths are in the plains such as Udham Singh Nagar, Haridwar and Dehradun districts.

Over 45,000 police and other forces have been deployed for the election.

The Bharatiya Janata Party is virtually locked in a straight battle against arch-rival Congress in all the five seats.