The EVMs fitted with the VVPAT (voter-verified paper audit trail) would be used for the polling for the Tharali Assembly by-election slated on May 28. This is the first time VVPAT would be used during the polling in Uttarakhand. The Chamoli district administration now gearing up for the by-poll, 20 master trainers appointed among the engineers of different departments have been trained on how the EVMs fitted with VVPAT operate on Tuesday. They would train others deployed for the conduct of the by-poll in different phases on the operation of the EVMs equipped with VVPAT.
The nodal officer in charge of the EVMs to be used for the by-poll, Aamendra Prasad said that VVPAT is being used for the first time in the state during the Tharali Assembly by- election. He said that the master trainers must have full grip over the technical operation of the VVPAT- fitted EVMs. “If there is any confusion still lingering in their minds it should be cleared. Otherwise, the government employees to be deployed for by-election duty would not be trained rightly,” he said.
Explaining VVPAT, Prasad said that during the polling, VVPAT would remain linked with the EVMs and the voters after casting votes would receive slips whereon the names of the candidates and the parties their votes are cast for would be printed. “The voters also can see the same on the display screens for seven seconds,” he said.
He further said that the master trainers would be present at the polling stations and would fix EVM and VVPAT-related problems. “We have imparted to them complete knowledge of the technical operation of the VVPAT-fitted EVMs during the training. This is an imperative too as the system is being used for the first time in the State.
We are sure the polling based on the new system would be successfully conducted during the upcoming Assembly by-election,” Prasad added.