EVMs reach strongrooms amid tight security

Tirupati / Chittoor: Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) have reached strong rooms in Tirupati and Chittoor amid tight security on Tuesday. EVMs of seven Assembly constituencies in Tirupati district were kept at a strong room in Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam (SPMVV) in the presence of election general observers, representatives of political parties, candidates and returning officers.

Tirupati district election officer Pravin Kumar said that EVMs of Tirupati, Chandragiri, Srikalahasti, Satyavedu, Gudur, Sullurpet and Venkatagiri constituencies in the district were kept at SPMVV strong room. The lights in the strong rooms were switched off and doors have been locked. Arrangements are made for webcasting of strong rooms, which the security staff can monitor all the time.

Candidates and their agents can also check the footage of CCTV cameras set up in SPMVV campus. Central reserve police force, State armed force and State police have been providing a 3-layer security at strong rooms and there is no scope for any doubts on EVMs’ safety.

In the presence of election general observers Ujwal Kumar Ghosh, Kailas Wankhade, K Jyothi, district police election observer Aravind Salve, strong rooms were locked and sealed.

In Chittoor, EVMs of seven assembly constituencies – Chittoor, Puthalapattu, Punganur, Nagari, GD Nellore, Kuppam and Palamaner were kept at the strong room in SVCET engineering college. These strong rooms were locked in the presence of District Election Officer S Shan Mohan, general observers Sadiq Alam, Kailash Wankhade, joint collector P Srinivasulu and others.