Ahmedabad, April 25 (IANS) Ahead of local body elections in Gujarat, Ahmedabad rural police have stepped up enforcement and security measures, seizing illicit liquor worth over Rs one crore and intensifying preventive action as part of preparations for polling scheduled on April 26.​

Officials said that 5,360 litres of country liquor, valued at Rs 10.72 lakh, and 16,976 bottles of Indian Made Foreign Liquor, worth Rs 96.94 lakh, have been seized during ongoing drives.​

Between April 1 and April 25, police have carried out 5,192 preventive actions and registered 870 prohibition-related offences.​

During the same period, authorities initiated 81 externment proposals, 25 PASA proposals and 60 other legal proceedings.​

A total of 1,687 weapons were deposited, while 20 check-posts were established and 41,075 vehicles were checked. Police also verified 159 history-sheeters as part of preventive surveillance.​

A total of 3,251 police personnel have been deployed across the Ahmedabad rural district for election duty, including one Superintendent of Police, four Deputy Superintendents of Police, 34 Police Inspectors, 72 Police Sub-Inspectors, 1,249 police personnel, 173 LRD personnel, 1,537 Home Guards and GRD staff, 57 SRPF personnel, 114 personnel from other districts, 75 mobile patrol units and 22 Quick Response Teams.​

Authorities have identified 1,302 polling stations across the district for the elections.​

Of these, 41 have been classified as hyper-sensitive, 408 as sensitive and 853 as normal.​

These arrangements cover elections to the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation area, three municipalities, 34 district panchayat seats and 176 taluka panchayat seats.​

In parallel, the Ahmedabad Rural Police has activated the ADR-SHIELD platform as a digital command-and-control centre for real-time election monitoring.​

Operational since April 18, the system has been upgraded from a pilot project used during last year’s Gram Panchayat elections into a fully integrated district-level monitoring platform.​

The ADR-SHIELD portal provides integrated election data, booth-level information, police deployment planning, real-time monitoring, Google Maps-based surveillance and daily reporting.​

It offers what officials described as a “bird’s-eye view” of the entire district, along with granular booth-level inputs to assist supervision and coordination.​

Access to the platform has been granted to key officials, including the District Collector, Sub-Divisional Magistrates, Returning Officers, Assistant Returning Officers, election observers and senior police officers.​

The system has been developed in-house by the Ahmedabad Rural Police, with support from the Local Intelligence Branch, the Cyber Cell, and the district IT team.​

Voting will be held from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. across Ahmedabad district and other parts of Gujarat for municipal corporations, municipalities, district panchayats and taluka panchayats.​

District Election Officer and Collector Sujeet Kumar has appealed to voters to participate in large numbers, saying that elections “are not merely a process but a festival” in which citizens can elect their representatives and participate in local governance.​

He said arrangements have been made to ensure smooth voting across all centres, adding that drinking water, shade facilities and medical teams have been deployed at polling stations in view of the summer heat.​

Security arrangements have also been strengthened jointly by the police and district administration to ensure a peaceful, free and fair election process.​

–IANS

mys/dan