Maha polls: Army, partner forces flew 140 sorties spanning over 77 hours

PTI, Nov 28, 2024, 8:39 AM IST

New Delhi: The Indian Army along with its partner forces flew a total of 140 sorties spanning over 77 hours, transporting 925 passengers and 8,385 kg of cargo from November 17-20, while ensuring that even the remotest and Naxal-affected areas of Maharashtra could participate in the Assembly elections, officials said on Wednesday.

The Maharashtra Assembly elections were held on November 20, and the results were declared on November 23.

“The Indian Army has played a pivotal role in ensuring that even the remotest and Naxal-affected areas of Maharashtra participated in the Assembly elections,” a senior army official said.

The army, along with other security forces, “mobilised critical resources” to enable voters in these challenging regions to cast their ballots.

The army deployed two Advanced Light Helicopters (ALHs) to augment the much-needed air effort to facilitate movement of election officials and logistics such as Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) to areas lacking surface connectivity, “including those affected by Naxalism”.

This ensured that the election process was successfully carried out even in the most difficult and remote locations, the army said From November 17-20, the army along with its partner forces “flew a total of 140 sorties spanning over 77 hours, transporting 925 passengers and 8,385 kg of cargo”, the force said.

Of this, the Indian Army conducted 17 sorties, clocking approximately 22 hours of flight time and carrying 124 passengers. During the de-induction phase from November 20-21, the forces collectively flew 56 sorties over 23 hours, moving 408 passengers and 6,980 kg of cargo.

The Indian Army alone conducted nine sorties, totalling 10 hours of flight time, and carrying 73 passengers, it said.

“Notably, the army’s aviation helicopters facilitated the induction of election officials and EVMs from Wadsa to various hard-to-reach locations, including Sawargaon (165 km), Gyarapatti (70 km), Muramgaon (68 km), and Katezari (50 km) — areas severely impacted by the Naxalite movement,” the official said.

The successful execution of these operations highlighted the army’s crucial role in supporting democratic processes and ensuring the participation of every citizen in the election process, no matter how remote their location, he added.