Coimbatore district administration implements monitoring measures and tech integration for elections
Thirty flying squads, 30 static surveillance teams, 20 video surveillance teams, and additional units have been deployed, says Collector Kranthi Kumar Pati; helpline numbers activated to address electionrelated inquiries and complaints
Following the enforcement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) for the Lok Sabha elections in the district on April 19, Collector Kranthi Kumar Pati announced the initiation of flying squads, static surveillance teams, video surveillance teams, and video viewing teams which have been established in the Corporation, municipalities, and town panchayats across the district, to monitor code violations.
Thirty flying squads, 30 static surveillance teams, 20 video surveillance teams, and additional units have been deployed, he said.
In a bid to enhance monitoring capabilities, GPS devices and solarpowered CCTV cameras are being installed in the vehicles of flying squads. This technological integration enables election officials to oversee the actions of the squads in realtime from a central control centre.
To streamline the reporting process, flying squads and static surveillance teams are required to log all cash and material seizures through a new mobile application called Election Seizure Management System (ESMS). This will facilitate the instant sharing of seizure data with various State and Central government departments.
Moreover, a citizencentric app named CWhistle has been introduced to enable individuals and voters to report complaints regarding electoral malpractices. Officials have committed to addressing these complaints within 100 minutes.
The total number of voters in the district stands at 30.35 lakh as per the district’s Special Summary Revision Report and over 24,000 additions have been made as of March 16, the Continuous Summary Revision Report stated. “From now, all revisions have been halted,” Mr. Pati said.
The district administration has identified 446 octogenarians, who will be eligible for home voting services upon request. Additionally, special provisions will be made for individuals with over 40% disabilities.
Speaking to mediapersons on Saturday, V. Badrinarayanan, Superintendent of Police, said, “To ensure fair and transparent elections, we have pinpointed areas within the district where potential issues may arise during the electoral process. We will disclose these details once election observers review them.”
Further, the district administration has activated helpline numbers, including 18004251215 and 1950, to address any electionrelated inquiries or complaints from the public. “A separate redress cell has also been established at the Collectorate for this purpose,” Mr. Pati said.