Bhubaneswar, (Orissa Today), June 3: The fate of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituency candidates in Odisha will be determined on Tuesday as vote counting commences across various centers.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) is fully prepared for the process, set to begin at 8:00 am, with stringent security measures in place for Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trails (VVPATs) stored in 69 strongrooms statewide.
A comprehensive three-tier security system surrounds these strongrooms, bolstered by constant CCTV surveillance. While 25 companies of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) safeguard the strongrooms, police teams maintain continuous patrols outside.
In Bhubaneswar, the BJB College strongroom is closely monitored by both CAPF and State Armed Police. Similar high-security arrangements are in place in Baripada, where candidates and their supporters also maintain a vigilant watch alongside CAPF and state police.
Additionally, strongrooms have been established at Berhampur Government Women’s Polytechnic and Uma Charan Patnaik Engineering School.
Emphasizing post-election law and order, the ECI has deployed over 70 CAPF companies in Odisha until June 6. Initially, 25 CAPF companies were designated to guard strongrooms and counting centers, with an additional 70 companies later deployed to uphold law and order statewide in the post-election period.
