Udhagamandalam: In a bid to create awareness among voters about electronic voting machines (EVM), the district administration dispatched 45 EVMs to each of the three constituencies — Ooty, Coonoor and Gudalur — in the Nilgiris district on Tuesday.
The machines were taken from the locker room at the additional collectorate in Ooty in the presence of collector J Innocent Divya, representatives of political parties and other officials.
“The machines will be kept under the custody of the returning officers of the concerned constituencies till they are brought back to the locker room after awareness programmes,” the collector said. The machines will be taken to various public places in the constituencies to educate people, she added.
Divya said the district has 1,503 ballot units, 1,140 control units and 1,197 VVPAT units. The first-level checking of these units showed that they are in good working condition.
The number of polling stations in the district has been increased from 683 to 868, she said. “Due to the Covid situation, the polling stations having more than 1,050 voters were bifurcated,” she said.
The collector inspected a few of the polling stations in the Coonoor constituency. “The inspection was as per the instruction of the election commission so as to ascertain that basic facilities provided at the polling stations,” she said.
Meanwhile, N Kannan, TASMAC assistant manager of Nilgiris district, has been deputed to monitor the day-to-day sale of liquor in the hill district.