A television screen casting the closed circuit television (CCTV) footage installed at a strong room containing ballot boxes and voter verifiable paper audit trail (VVPAT) machines used in the Erode Parliamentary constituency, malfunctioned for two hours and was then rectified, at the Government College of Engineering in Chithode on Tuesday, April 30, 2024.
At 7 a.m., election officials found that the screen, casting footage of cameras installed at the strong room where machines used in the Kumarapalayam Assembly constituency have been kept, had malfunctioned at the control room. M. Sathish Kumar, Assistant Returning Officer and Revenue Divisional Officer, Erode, along with representatives of candidates inspected the room and found that the cameras were functional and were recording footage. Also, the monitor installed outside the strong room were screen-casting the footage. It was found that a fault had occurred in the connection line from the strong room to the control room at the adminstrative block. The fault was explained to the candidates’ representatives and technicians rectified the fault and normalcy was restored.
It may be recalled that a camera installed outside one of the strong rooms malfunctioned for an hour, late on Sunday, April 28, and was rectified by technicians.
District Election Officer and Collector Raja Gopal Sunkara has asked the vendor to inspect the CCTV cameras and its functioning and submit a report at the earliest. He had also asked the vendor to take necessary steps to prevent any further issues.
Ballot boxes and VVPATs used in the six Assembly constituencies in Erode Parliamentary constituency: Kumarapalayam, Erode (East), Erode (West), Modakkurichi, Dharapuram and Kangeyam have been kept at the counting centre and a three-tier security system is in place here.
