Latest news with #VVPAT
The Hindu
13 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Tiruchi Collector checks the electronic voting machines
Penal action will be initiated against shops and commercial establishments which fail to comply with the directive to install name boards in Tamil, Collector M. Pradeep Kumar said on Monday. We held a meeting with the traders and they were clearly briefed on the directive to install name boards in Tamil. They can have name boards both in Tamil and English, but the Tamil letters should be bigger. Many traders have complied with the directive and some have not. Those who had not complied were imposed fine and given 10 days time to comply. If they fail to do so, penal action will be initiated,' Mr. Pradeep Kumar said in a brief interaction with reporters here. Mr. Pradeep Kumar said local bodies had been instructed to remove flag posts erected on the roadsides and claimed that nearly 90% of them had been removed. The remaining would also be cleared soon, he said. Earlier, the Collector inspected the electronic voting machines kept in the strong room in the Collectorate complex in the presence of representatives of recognised political parties as part of a routine exercise. All the 8,637 ballot units, 3,449 control units and 3,990 VVPAT devices were found to be intact during the inspection, he said.
Hindustan Times
4 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Warehouse planned on Wadala salt pan land to stock EVMs
MUMBAI: The state government is planning to construct a warehouse on a plot, classified as salt pan land a few decades ago but has since been lying vacant, in Wadala, to stock electronic voting machines (EVMs) issued to Mumbai city collectorate. The machines are traditionally stored in select sections of offices of the Mumbai Port Authority, Railways, and schools, among other places. The state chief electoral officer (CEO) S Chockalingam said, 'While earlier, EVMs were even stored in godowns stocking food grains, now we have decided to construct special places to store them. We have constructed similar godowns in 21 districts.' The Mumbai city district, stretching from Colaba to Mahim, has 2537 polling stations, with 6869 ballot units, 4798 control units and 4982 voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines, said Mumbai city deputy district election officer Shyam Surwase. The warehouse in Wadala will house the machines put to use in this stretch of south Mumbai. Surwase told HT, the size of the godown and cost to construct it are yet to be determined. The city faced a severe dearth of space to store the machines earlier, leading to election officials often complaining about the EVMs' poor performance when they get wrecked from dampness. That's the reason why it was deemed fit to allocate the land in Wadala, people in the know told HT. According to the city's development plan (DP-2034) which was inked in 2018, the proposed land parcel was reserved for rehabilitation and resettlement of project affected people, or a depot for BEST or to be left as a natural area. In 2021, the then collector of Mumbai city district and the chief electoral officer wrote to the Urban Development Department (UDD) to renegotiate the reservation of the natural area for a 3846 sq-metre plot, and facilitate it for the warehouse to store EVM and VVPAT machines. The original salt pan plot was de-reserved last week. Throwing light on the use of the warehouse, an official from the Election Commission said, 'Political parties have made it fashionable to blame EVMs at times of defeat. Earlier, Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) blamed the machines, and now Opposition parties have taken the plunge. Many leaders also file election petitions. During the last assembly elections, in Mumbai, we had to hold back EVMs of Mumbai North West Parliamentary constituency as Amol Kirtikar of Shiv Sena (UBT) lost narrowly and filed election petition. Huge space is required to stock the machines. Once each district has its own godown and proper security is put in place, the allegations of tampering will go away completely.' Plans are also afoot to replicate the process in the Mumbai suburban district (Bandra-Dahisar and Sion-Mulund). The EVMs here are stacked in a godown of Food Corporation of India, in Borivili, and the Maharashtra Agro Industries Development Corporation, in Goregaon. A senior official in the know of things, from the suburban collectorate, said: 'We have asked for a plot next to the Mumbai city collectorate's godown at Wadala or a plot next to the veterinary college in Goregaon, owned by state animal husbandry department. The Mumbai suburban district needs a plot of at least four acres for a godown, which would cost at least ₹60 crore to build. As the budget is huge, the plan is on hold.' Thane collector Ashok Shingare said, a similar godown has been planned in Kalwa. 'We have 18 assembly segments and a large number of EVMs. We had a meeting with CEO Chokalingham recently and have asked the Public Works Department (PWD) to draw a plan,' said Shingare.
Hindustan Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Ludhiana West bypoll: Polling officers to upload live voter turnout on ECINET App
For ensuring that the polling personnel are thoroughly familiar with election rules and procedures, hands on training of electronic voting machines (EVMs), voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines and training session on IT application-ECINET was held for presiding officers (PRO), assistant presiding officers (APRO) and polling officers (PO) in Khalsa College for Women, Civil Lines on Wednesday. General observer for Ludhiana West byelection Rajeev Kumar; secretary, Election Commission of India (ECI) Ashwani Kumar Mohal; IT expert from ECI Saurabh Rai; EVM nodal officer, Bihar Dheeraj Kumar; joint chief electoral officer Sakatar Singh Bal, deputy commissioner (DC)-cum-district election officer (DEO), Himanshu Jain, ADC-cum-RO Rupinder Pal Singh, SDM Jasleen Bhullar among others were present and supervised the training sessions. While the hands-on training of EVMs and VVPAT machines was held for PROs, the training session for ECINET application was also held for PROs, APROs and POs. The officials stated that the EVMs and VVPAT machines used during the training session are strictly for training purposes only. Master trainers were also deployed during the training sessions to educate the PROs about the working of EVMs and VVPAT machines. The officials stated that batches of polling personnel have been formed and the training exercise will continue for two days. IT expert from ECI, Saurabh Rai also shared a presentation regarding the functioning of ECINET application and how the real time information has to be shared through the application. The ECINET App allows PROs to submit real time voter turnout figures on the internet. Meanwhile, general observer Rajeev Kumar directed the polling personnel to perform their duty in an efficient and transparent manner. He further stated that apart from district administration officials, the polling personnel can also contact him, at 91-62831-78975, if they face any kind of problem.
Time of India
6 days ago
- General
- Time of India
SVEEP campaign kicks off to promote voter registration
Patna: State's chief electoral officer, Vinod Singh Gunjiyal, appealed to the young voters and eligible citizens, who have completed 18 years, to get their names registered in the voter list and become active participants in the electoral process. They can do so by using the Voter Helpline App, Voter Portal, or contact their BLO (booth level officer). He was inaugurating a three-day SVEEP (systematic voters' education and electoral participation) special campaign, "Vote for earth, vote for democracy," on Tuesday organised on the occasion of World Bicycle Day. "Voting is the soul of democracy, and the environment is its future," he said. The cycle rally witnessed enthusiastic participation from a large number of youth, women, school and college students, cycling club volunteers, police personnel from police headquarters, govt employees, and representatives from various organisations. The rally's primary objective was to encourage young people, especially new voters who have completed 18 years of age, and women voters, to register in the electoral roll. Simultaneously, it promoted cycling as a means of environmental conservation. The themes of the three-day programme include "ride bicycle, increase voting' on the first day where voter cycle rallies were organised in districts, schools, colleges, and govt offices. The theme for the second day is "Voter dialogue—message of voting" where special sessions of Electoral Literacy Clubs will be held in schools and colleges, along with audio messages in villages and towns, social media live sessions, competitions, mehendi, rangoli, reel making, videography, EVM and VVPAT demos and voter pledge and "Environmental Voter" resolution. The theme for the last day is "Promise of greenery, intent of democracy", in which a voter tree plantation drive, street plays, songs, and awareness programmes will be conducted.
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Mock polling on EVMs underway in Saran
Chhapra: In the final phase of first level check (FLC) of EVMs and VVPATs ahead of the assembly elections, mock polling will be conducted from May 27 to May 30 in Saran district. Saran district election officer-cum-DM Aman Sameer said, "A mock poll will be conducted on around 250 EVMs. All political parties have been informed via official communication and prior meetings. They have been asked to randomly select EVMs, cast mock votes and observe the process vigilantly," he said. Deputy election officer Zaved Iqbal said as per ECI guidelines, 5% of FLC-cleared EVMs will undergo mock polling. "On 1% of the selected machines, 1,200 votes will be polled; on another 2%, 1,000; and on the remaining 2%, 500 votes," he said. After the polling, VVPAT slips will be verified against the control unit results. EVM cell nodal officer Ravi Prakash added, "Load testing will be conducted on about 1% of EVMs or approximately 50 machines. The FLC work in Saran has been fully transparent and ECI observers have expressed satisfaction with the process."
