Ensure uninterrupted CCTV coverage of strongrooms: DMK to EC

Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK on Monday, 29 April, urged the Election Commission to ensure uninterrupted Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) coverage of all strongrooms in the state and sought declaration of premises of storage of EVMs a "no-fly zone" for drones.

DMK organisation secretary R S Bharathi, in a memorandum, urged the poll panel to "ensure the CCTV coverage in all the strongrooms where EVMs are stored is not interrupted for whatsoever reasons including technical, electrical, electronical, among others."

Referring to the CCTV cameras at the Government Polytechnic College in Udagamandalam (Ooty) going blank for 20 minutes (6.20 pm to 6.40 pm) on 27 April, Bharathi requested uninterrupted coverage in his representation addressed to the chief election commissioner and the chief electoral officer of Tamil Nadu.

The DMK leader requested the authorities to declare the campuses that house EVMs in strongrooms as "no-fly zone" for drones.

The EVMs of Nilgiris Lok Sabha constituency are stored in strongrooms on the Ooty polytechnic college premises.

Bharathi said the only way to monitor the secure state of strongrooms is through uninterrupted CCTV coverage, and urged that a backup of recorded video be preserved.