ANANTAPUR: The continuous beep from the strongrooms where the electronic voting machines (EVMs) were deposited in SK University Engineering college in the town made the district officials go through some anxious moments today.
Some persons alerted the officials that beep sound was emanating from strongrooms and expressed doubts about the EVMs. District collector V Anil Kumar, district SP MK Singh, joint collector T Chiranjeevulu, EVMs engineer Surendra Kumar rushed to the engineering college and examined the EVMs.
Later, Surendra Kumar said that the sounds were emanating because the EVMs were not switched off. The sounds would stop once the battery of EVMs was fully discharged.
He averred that the data stored in the EVMs would not change. No one should panic over the beep sound, he said.
The beep sounds came from EVMs, particularly used in sensitive Assembly segments like Rapthadu, Penukonda, Hindupur and Dharmavaram. As there was a keen fight in these four segments, the followers of various political parties alerted the officials. Later, the activists heaved a sigh of relief as the officials assured there would be no danger to the information stored in the EVMs.