Govt staff worry about poll duty

ALIPURDUAR: Coming barely 40 days before the Lok Sabha polls in North Bengal, Wednesday's blast in a busy Alipurduar market has cast a shadow of terror over the region and given a rude jolt to the administration and police.
Since mid-2007, the area around Alipurduar has witnessed minor terror attacks. Blasts have taken place at Barobhisha, Srirampur (close to the Bengal-Assam border) and Kamakhyaguri.Residents argue that the administration had ignored these attacks. The entire town is terrified of similar attacks again.
"The administration said KLO was finished. But they were carrying out small attacks. Had investigations been done properly and hideouts raided, Wednesday's blast wouldn't have happened," said Manik Sen, a local resident.
The district administration is still undecided about the measures to be taken for fair polls and the safe homecoming of poll staff. "During the last Assembly elections, I was sent to a booth close to the Bengal-Assam border. It was an isolated place. In such an area anything can happen. I am scared of being posted at a remote place again," said Parul Das, an BDO office employee.
On Thursday, the CPM-backed co-ordination committee shot off a letter to the district administration seeking information on security measures for polling day. Government employees have made it clear that safety concerns could make them skip poll duty. "We are worried. Who will be responsible in case of any attack on government staff on poll duty? Terrorists carried out an attack in the heart of the town and the administration could do nothing. How can they provide security in remote areas?" asked Partha Dutta Biswas of the joint council of state government employees.