Polling staff and security forces need not worry about getting malaria or other vector-borne diseases on election duty in remote areas.

Acting on the directive of East Singhbhum DC Amit Kumar, the district health department will map the malaria index of nearly 175 clusters where polling parties are accommodated before they’re sent to their polling booths in far-flung areas, and also nearly 30 locations where temporary barracks of paramilitary and security forces, and poll parties will be set up for the May 12 vote day.

There are some 1,885 polling booths in as many as 1,133 polling locations across the district under Jamshedpur Lok Sabha constituency.

“We have started working on preparing the malaria index mapping of areas according to protocols of National Vector-Borne Disease Control Programme, following the deputy commissioner’s directive on Saturday (March 16). The idea is to assure security forces and poll officials, mainly teachers, bank staff and other government employees, that they won’t get malaria and vector-borne diseases, no matter how remote the area they are in,” said East Singhbhum civil surgeon Dr Maheshwar Prasad.

Under protocol, any site with a malaria index of over 5 is sensitive, needing preventive steps such as spraying of larvicides, bleaching powder and fogging, Dr Prasad said.

“We will complete malaria index mapping of the area using our health workers and sahiyas in a fortnight and based on their findings start preventive measures,” the civil surgeon added.

He said first-aid and essential drug kits would be dispatched with each polling party at all 175 cluster points.

“We will get additional stock of first-aid kits and life-saving drugs by this month, to be tagged with different clusters. We will also deploy our medical teams at all blocks so that they can reach any booth within the shortest possible time,” said Dr Prasad.

Medical boards will be formed to cross-check claims of officials and security personnel pleading to be exempt from poll duty on health grounds. In many cases, personnel try to shirk poll duty at remote areas pleading illnesses, which are fake. “The administration asked us to form and deploy medical boards at blocks and district headquarters so that such applications are verified,” added Dr Prasad.