The Kerala State Information Technology Mission (IT Mission) on Monday conducted the successful trial of webcasting by linking 1,845 select polling booths in Kozhikode district.
IT Mission officials said the service of nearly 2,000 persons, including Akshaya entrepreneurs, control room staff and IT experts, would be utilised to operate the facility during the election on Tuesday.
“The district-level control room will function at the Collectorate for the election authorities including general observers. Two other control rooms will be reserved for the Kozhikode city and rural police,” said C.M. Midhun Krishna, District Nodal Officer for Webcasting. He said there would be high-resolution webcams connected to the high-speed Fibre to the Home (FTTH) network to ensure steady transmission of visuals from all the spots.
Hotlines
The number of hotlines to ensure quick interaction between returning Officers and the district-level election authorities was also increased in the district. During the local body polls, the number of hotlines was just five. Officials said there would be special arrangements in every booth for returning officers to escalate complaints related to poll proceedings.
According to officials, webcasting would cover all the critical and sensitive booths apart from covering the other vulnerable locations proposed by the district election authority. Of the 2,435 polling booths in Kozhikode rural area, 401 were sensitive booths. Other 29 were included in the list of critical booths. Within the city limits, the total number of sensitive booths was 98. Only 14 booths were added to the list of critical category.