Strongrooms for Attingal and Thiruvananthapuram Lok Sabha constituencies have been arranged in various institutions functioning on the Mar Ivanios Vidya Nagar campus at Nalanchira in connection with the Lok Sabha elections.
Polling machines for the 14 Assembly constituencies in the two parliamentary constituencies have been stored in six institutions.
District Collector Geromic George who is the district election officer visited the strongrooms and reviewed the arrangements, including that for security.
The Collector inaugurated the centralised CCTV control room set up at Mar Ivanios College for monitoring the strongrooms. Manoj R., nodal officer in charge of strongroom and counting hall; Shanavas, assistant nodal officer; and Ajayakumar, PWD assistant executive engineer, were present.
The strongrooms are functioning at Sarvodaya Central Vidyalaya (Thiruvananthapuram); Mar Baselios Engineering College (Attingal and Nedumangad); Sarvodaya Vidyalaya (ICSE) St. Peter’s Block (Vamanapuram); Sarvodaya Vidyalaya ICSE (Parassala, Kovalam); Sarvodaya Vidyalaya ICSE Little Flower Block (Kattakada); Mar Theophilus Training College (Varkala, Chirayinkeezhu); Mar Ivanios College (Vattiyurkavu, Aruvikkara); Mar Ivanios Commerce wing (Kazhakuttam); and St. John’s Higher Secondary School (Nemom, Neyyattinkara).
As soon as voting ends in the evening on polling day, Friday, electronic voting machines (EVMs) in the constituencies will be transported to the strongrooms. These will then be sealed in the presence of the returning officer concerned, political party representatives, Central forces, and the State police and stored in the strongrooms under heavy security till the counting day, June 4. The counting of votes will take place in halls arranged near the respective strongrooms.
Three-tier security under Central forces and the State police has been arranged for the strongrooms from April 26 to June 4 as per the Election Commission of India’s directions. The strongrooms will be under round the clock CCTV surveillance. Executive magistrates too have been entrusted with the monitoring of the centralised CCTV control room at Mar Ivanios College.
Arrangements have also been made near the control room for the candidates and the chief agents of political parties to monitor the strongrooms.
