The electronic voting machines (EVMs) used in Friday’s Lok Sabha elections were shifted to the designated strong rooms in the respective constituencies in the central region.
The strong rooms would be guarded round the clock by the armed Central and State police personnel. Besides, web cameras have been installed at the counting centre to ensure continuous monitoring, the officials said.
In Tiruchi, the EVMs were moved to the strong room at Jamal Mohamed College, which is the counting centre in the city. The strong rooms were sealed in the presence of Collector M. Pradeep Kumar, Election Observer (General) Dinesh Kumar, and agents of the candidates.
Mr. Pradeep Kumar said the strong room had been provided with three-tier security. Closed circuit television cameras (CCTVs) have been installed for round-the-clock monitoring. “I and the City Police Commissioner will visit the centre every day to check if everything is alright,” he said.
Returning Officers of the other five Lok Sabha constituencies and Election Observers inspected the sealing of EVMs in the strong rooms.
In Nagapattinam, the EVMs from all the areas were kept at the Government Arts and Science College located in Sellur. This was done in the presence of District Collector Johny Tom Varghese, Tiruvarur District Collector T. Charusree, and General Observer for the constituency Bharathi Lakpathi Naika and representatives from various political parties.
In Mayiladuthurai, the EVMs were kept at the A.V.C. College, which is the counting centre. District Collector A.P. Mahabharathi and Election Observer (General) Kanhuraj H. Bagate and representatives of various political parties were present.