An average of 70 percent of voters cast their votes in the first phase of the Odisha panchayat polls on Wednesday.
Some incidents of sporadic violence were reported during polling.
Voting at booth number 11 under Tundamela Gram Panchayat in the Junagarh block of Kalahandi could not be held.
Voting was also disrupted at three booths in Dhenkanal, seven in Jajpur, and five polling stations in Puri. The State Election Commission (SEC) has asked for reports from the respective district collectors in this regard.
In the first phase, voting was held in 200 Zilla Parishad zones spread across 71 blocks of 30 districts. Arrangements were made for the polling at 22,379 booths in 1,669 Panchayats across the State. Polling began at 7 am and ended at 1 pm today. Voting was overall peaceful across the State, the SEC said. It has directed the DG of police to ensure the smooth conduct of the rest of the elections across the state.
Pink booths have been set up at all district headquarters to ensure ease for women voters. 225 platoons of police force have been deployed to maintain law and order.
