Dehradun district magistrate who is also the district election officer Ravinath Raman inspected strong room housed at Maharana Pratap Sports College in Raipur where the electronic voting machines (EVMs) are being kept after polling was over on Wednesday.
He stressed on fool-proof security at the strong room to stop any possibility of tampering with the machines. The counting would be taken up on March 11 morning.
Raman took stock of security arrangements at strong room and its inner and outer campus and the terrace as well as alternate strong rooms and CCTV camera operating rooms.
The additional DM Harbeer Singh who was also present directed the officials concerned to install CCTV cameras at the gate of the strong room to add to the vigilance there. All the activities recorded by the CCTV cameras should be kept and stored safely, he stressed.
The polling materials for all the 10 constituencies of the district are being kept there separately in the strong room.
It would be sealed after all the poll materials are deposited.
It is learnt that polling materials from nine constituencies have already been stored in the strong room at the counting venue.
Around 64 polling teams who were deputed in the far- flung polling stations in Chakrata constituency are yet to return.
After they return their polling materials would be deposited.
Officials expect that they would return by late Thursday night or Friday.
Others present on the occasion were general observers Manish Gupta, Rajesh Kaul and Dr Ashok, ADM (finance) Veer Singh Budiyal, superintendent of police (City) Ajay Singh and returning officers of all the Vidhan Sabha constituencies.
Strong security arrangements put in place at Maharana Pratap College
Elaborate security arrangements have been made for the strong room at Maharana Pratap Sports College in Raipur. Polling teams who were deputed in the polling stations in the far- flung areas were seen reaching the strong room to deposit the EVMs on Thursday. This correspondent visited the counting venue to get a feel of the security arrangements in force there found tight security all around the building that houses the strong room. While talking to The Pioneer, additional DM Harbeer Singh said that three- tier security arrangements have been put into place at the counting venue. Strong room is under CCTV surveillance round the clock. Police forces, deployed to ensure security of the strong room, are vigilant too, he said. Besides, ITBP personnel have been deputed to man the first layer of security while PAC jawans would look after the second layer and the civil police would ensure the third layer security. The police officers have been strictly directed not to allow anybody in, sans valid identity cards.