The Government College of Technology on Thadagam Road in the city will turn a no-entry zone on Friday, when votes polled in the recently concluded two-phase local body elections will be counted.
Only candidates and their authorised agents with entry pass will be permitted into the GCT premises. The security in the counting centre will be a four-tier one, with a sterile zone, an inner ring and an outer ring, and for added protection, a peripheral security cover. Match boxes and other combustible materials will not be permitted inside the counting centre.
Talking to The Hindu , City Police Commissioner Amaresh Pujari said more than 250 personnel and officers would be on duty. A mini control room had been set up to monitor surveillance in and around the GCT premises and a Very High Frequency (VHF) wireless channel had been established in the control room, he said.
This is being done for the first time to ensure that routine transmission of messages over wireless on law and order and traffic are not disturbed. A surveillance camera network is already in place, and the feeds will be continuously monitored in the mini control room.
The security will be supervised periodically by Deputy Commissioners of Police Hema Karunakaran (Law and Order), T. Senthil Kumar (Crime and Traffic) and C. Vivekanandan (Head Quarters).
In addition to the arrangements, the city police are also deploying armed pickets in and around sensitive pockets across the city, and all officers from the Law and Order wing will be on alert, patrolling to prevent any outbreak of violence as results start trickling in.
In the West Zone comprising eight districts, there are 50 counting centres in Coimbatore Rural District, 31 in Erode, 19 in Udhagamandalam, 25 in Tirupur, 55 in Salem Rural District, 39 in Namakkal, 18 in Dharmapuri, and 14 in Krishnagiri. Inspector-General of Police–West Zone K. Vanniya Perumal said the security in the districts is being arranged under the supervision of the respective Superintendents of Police.
Our Staff Reporter from Tirupur adds
Four-tier security has been provided at the L.R.G.College in Tirupur, where votes polled in the local body elections will be counted on Friday.
Deputy Superintendent of Police R. Rajaram said about 200 police personnel would be on duty for the counting.The counting of votes to the post of Mayor will be completed in 29 rounds. Fifteen tables each have been set up to count the votes polled for Mayor and Councillors.
