Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, polling turned out to be a huge challenge as compliance with safety protocols had to be ensured. There was better adherence to masking across booths but physical distancing went for a toss, while indiscriminate dumping of used polythene gloves turned an eyesore across centres.
Wearing of masks was made mandatory for voters. At several booths, staff and volunteers kept hand sanitisers and polythene gloves ready, while voters were also screened for temperature before entry.
Masks available
Across centres, most wore masks; they were also made available. However, some persons either lowered or removed their masks outside booths.
At a booth at T. Nagar, an election volunteer said though masks were kept ready for distribution, most of the voters came wearing them.
A voter in Tambaram said gloves were not distributed properly to voters at his booth and voters had to ask for them. At a few centres, especially those with more number of booths, screening for temperature, hand sanitisation and provision of gloves took a back seat, especially as the day wore on.
It was the physical distancing norm that saw very poor compliance as voters crowded outside booths at many centres without maintaining the prescribed spacing, despite markings. For instance, in south Chennai, most centres that had three to four booths had no physical distancing.
Initial hiccups
A few booths in Ambattur were crowded as early as 7.45 a.m. There were initial hiccups in voting. Polling was delayed by half-an-hour, leading to crowding at Kallikuppam and Madhanankuppam, and there were no markings to ensure physical distancing. While hand sanitisers were given, used gloves were strewn all over the booth at Venbakkam, Ponneri, owing to the lack of facility for safe disposal. Though space was marked for physical distancing, voters often ignored it in their haste to vote.
Personal distancing, an important measure to prevent the spread of COVID 19, was thrown to the winds at a majority of the booths in Vellore, Ranipet, Tirupattur and Tiruvannamalai districts. People were seen standing very close to each other in the queue. Security personnel said people were not listening to them.
At the Agaramcheri booth in Ambur, policemen were seen sitting at the entrance, and there was no official to regulate the crowd.
At many centres, used polythene gloves were dumped in the open.
The Health Department earlier said it had made elaborate arrangements, including providing gloves to voters and personal protective equipment to COVID-19 patients.
An official said by and large, adherence was satisfactory. Another official said there was 60% to 70% adherence to the masking and physical distancing norms.
