Calcutta: Poll panel wants to ensure connectivity at all booths, reduce prevalence of ‘shadow areas’

The Election Commission launched a strategic initiative to reduce the spread of “shadow areas” or areas where there is little or no mobile and internet connectivity and held a meeting with providers of telephone services in Calcutta.

“We held a meeting with state service providers. The shadow areas in the state have reduced significantly over the years, but we want connectivity at all places in the state. After the meeting, a senior official of the Director General’s office said, we have received some preliminary data on shadow areas from the district magistrates and we have asked the service providers to verify them.

According to Commission sources, most of the shadow areas are found in three areas. They are found in the forest areas of the Jangal Mahal spread over the districts of Purulia, Bankura, West Midnapore and Jhargram, the riverine areas of the Sundarbans covering parts of 24-Parganas North and 24-Parganas South, and the hills of Darjeeling and Kalimpong.

In a field of technologically dependent elections, shadow areas represent a formidable communication challenge. These areas manifest in two different forms: areas of sound shadow, areas that prevent telephone calls, and areas of Internet shadow, where connectivity is barely available.

“The electoral process has become increasingly driven by technology, with many mobile applications required for presidents. Communication with the Commission has become almost impossible due to lack of mobile connectivity and internet”, the official said.

In the 2019 general elections, Bengal saw how 159 constituencies faced vote shadow areas and 1,019 faced internet problems. The current initiative aims to reduce voice booths to almost negligible levels, and only a few hundred can withstand the challenges of connectivity to the Internet.

The Commission is also taking a proactive approach to setting up a temporary communications network rather than relying on satellite phones. An official announced,

The Commission is also preparing to deal with possible disruptions. “The President and staff at the cabin level are equipped to relay messages from the cabin to alternative sources if necessary,” the official said.