Mumbai, Feb 16 (IANS): Polling started on a peaceful note here and nine other municipal corporations around the state Thursday.Over 25,000 security personnel have been deployed in Mumbai, the biggest corporation going to polls, where around 1.30 crore people can exercise their franchise Thursday.

A total of 3.5 crore people will elect 1,244 municipal councillors, including 624 women, in Mumbai, Thane, Ulhasnagar, Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Solapur, Nashik, Akola, Amravati and Nagpur municipal corporations.

Of the total, Mumbai has nearly one-third of the voters, underlining the importance of the country's commercial capital.

Around 8,326 voting centres are being set up across the city, with 41,000 municipal officers on duty.

Police have also stepped up security measures, deploying around 2,375 officers, 20,982 constables, and five additional companies of the State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) along with the existing three companies.

Three companies of the Rapid Action Force (RAF) and 2,000 Home Guards will be deployed in the city on the poll day, Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik said.

According to Patnaik, of the 211 sensitive polling stations, comprising 883 booths, four have been declared hyper-sensitive. There will be maximum deployment of security personnel at the hyper-sensitive spots, where CCTVs have been installed.

Sale of liquor has been prohibited for three days from Wednesday. Two control rooms have also been set up for poll-related complaints. Emergency numbers (022-22623054 and 022-22621983) have been dedicated for it.