Three-tier security system in place at counting centres

Kolkata: The Election Commission (EC) has made elaborate security arrangements for guarding the control rooms where the EVMs have been kept and at the counting venues across the state. There are 394 strong rooms across the state with 14 in Kolkata. The counting of votes for the 42 Lok Sabha constituencies is scheduled on June 4.

The total number of counting venues in the state is 55 with 418 counting halls. Total number of halls (for Postal Ballot and Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot for service voters) are 86. Section 144 will be imposed till a distance of 200 m from the counting venues.

There will be three-tier security arrangements for the counting venues. The first tier will have baton-wielding state police. The second stage will have armed state police and the third tier will have the Central Forces. There will be 92 companies of Central Forces for the counting venues while the number of state police personnel will be 2525. There will be one observer for each of the 294 Assembly constituencies’ (AC) counting.

There are 294 ACs under the 42 Parliamentary constituencies in the state where elections concluded on June 1. The observer will be the sole person allowed to use mobile phones inside the counting venues. There will be no webcasting of the counting venues but they will be under CCTV surveillance.

For counting of postal ballots, the concerned Returning Officer (RO) or Assistant RO can use mobiles with certain restrictions. Only white paper and pen will be allowed inside the counting venues. If someone is caught with a mobile phone inside the venue, punishment can lead from fine up to imprisonment.The total number of tables inside counting venues will be 4944. The candidate or his/her election agent can go to all tables inside a counting venue.

The counting agents will not be allowed to go beyond his/ her earmarked table. A person will not be allowed to enter the counting venue, if he leaves the same once. Exceptions will be only in case of observers and ROs.There will be designated places for media persons inside counting venues.

The fate of 507 candidates will be decided through the counting process with an average of 17 rounds of counting for each candidate.

According to sources in the poll panel, the highest rounds of counting comprising 23 rounds will be held at Sitalkuchi (booth number 310 ) and Dinhata (booth number 318) under Cooch Behar district. The lowest counting rounds - 9 will be held at booth number 251 under Chopra AC in Darjeeling Parliamentary constituency.There will be 481 Assistant Ros involved in the counting process. There will be over 25,000 people involved in the counting process that involves the micro observers too. There will be one supervisor, one counting assistant and one micro observer in each counting table.