The Kerala State Information Technology Mission (IT Mission ) will facilitate the live monitoring of 868 polling booths with the support of Akshaya entrepreneurs in the district on April 23. Laptops and webcams are now ready with the team members who were recently trained by the Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation (Keltron) and poll officials.
Though the total number of polling stations earlier identified for webcasting was 936, election authorities revised it following connectivity issues raised by Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL).
On the basis of BSNL’s suggestions, the final list was prepared by excluding 68 booths. Other manual surveillance measures would be in place on the premises of such booths..
The first trial covering select booths in Kozhikode and Vadakara will be conducted on April 21. The full-fledged final trial linking all the 868 booths with the district-level control room at the collectorate will take place the following day. To ensure uninterrupted operation, a 100-member reserve group too will be ready with their laptops and webcams.
An IT Mission officer said the webcasting service would cover vulnerable and sensitive booths in the district. The live streaming initiative to be monitored directly by the District Election Officer would ensure close surveillance on polling booths where the police had earlier confirmed the presence of Maoist elements, the official added.
The webcasting facility was first introduced in the State during the 13th Legislative Assembly elections in 2011. In Kozhikode district, Akshaya had the webcasting facility in 606 booths in the last Assembly elections.
There will also be separate video surveillance squads within the limits of all the Assembly constituencies to monitor the movements outside polling booths. Micro observers trained by poll officials will be on duty on the basis of the vulnerability map prepared by election authorities.