TENKASI: As many as 90 out of 210 cameras installed in the strong room of the Tenkasi parliamentary constituency, located in a private college, malfunctioned due to the thunderstorm and the rains that accompanied it on Tuesday evening.
Sources said, the cameras went down at around 3.45 pm. “The electronic voting machines (EVMs) collected from the polling stations in the six assembly sectors in Tenkasi, have been stored in a strong room in a private college at Kodikurichi village, of Kadayanallur taluk.
A counting centre has also been set up at the college. A three-layer security system is in place to monitor the strong room round-the-clock. A total of 210 cameras were installed for the purpose, but on Tuesday, there was a thunderstorm with heavy rain.
As a result, 90 cameras installed around the strong room and across the counting centre suffered malfunction. Around 6.30pm, the cameras installed around the strong room were restored,” said sources.
Meanwhile, AIADMK’s Tenkasi candidate Dr K Krishnasamy sought a detailed report from the Election Commission of India in connection with the malfunctioning of the CCTV cameras. Krishnasamy also demanded that Chief Electoral Officer Satyabrata Sahoo visit the strong room.
“We cannot believe that 93 cameras were faulty at the same time. Some cameras were replaced only after 8 pm on Tuesday. Many questions arise about what happened in the absence of the CCTV cameras,” he said.
In a petition to Returning Officer A K Kamal Kishore, BJP candidate B John Pandian also demanded a detailed report on the incident. In response to the concerns, Kishore said that the strong room and the EVMs were safe with a three-layer security system.