More than 900 polling booths in Kozhikode district will be brought under a 24x7 video surveillance network as part of efforts to ensure a trouble-free Lok Sabha election. The booths, selected on the basis of recent vulnerability mapping and safety audit by the police, will have webcasting facility to be controlled by the Kerala State IT Mission team.
Discussions have already been held with the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited representatives and the Keltron management to ensure uninterrupted connectivity and live streaming support. They will soon submit their feasibility reports to the IT Mission team. The webcasting facility will be ready for operation by April 22.
IT Mission officials say there will be a fully-equipped control room at the Collectorate to continuously monitor the feeds from web cameras and take prompt action in consultation with the District Election Officer during crucial moments. The surveillance team will be able to monitor visuals from about 434 locations as per the existing plan and more locations are likely to be added to the list, they say.
“Now, we have the list of 936 booths in Kozhikode district to be brought under webcasting service. This number can go up if the Election Commission approves the district administration’s request to add a few more booths to the list,” says IT Mission district project officer Midhun Krishnan.
Rural areas
Apart from webcasting facilities, additional surveillance arrangements are under consideration in some rural areas, where the police suspect the presence of Maoist elements. Special security cover will be provided to all police stations located close to such locations. A separate video surveillance team will be posted to monitor the movements. The police say the details of such locations are yet to be announced due to security reasons.
Since the declaration of the elections, the police have been keeping vigil at such places by improving their local intelligence inputs with the support of residents. Vehicle checking and surprise inspections are in full swing in all politically sensitive areas with the support of patrol squads.
The deployment of the paramilitary forces will be done on the basis of the latest vulnerability map prepared by the City and Rural police. The District Election Officer will review it soon in the presence of top police officers.