Jammu/srinagar. Jammu/Srinagar: A day ahead of counting of votes for Jammu and Kashmir Lok Sabha constituencies along with the rest of the country, three-tier security has been beefed up in and around counting centres in the Union Territory as additional security personnel have been deployed at key locations in the Valley.
Ahead of the counting, returning officers of constituencies have held meetings with contesting candidates, election agents and representatives of political parties contesting in each Lok Sabha seat to familiarise them with the standard procedure of counting process laid down by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The administration has fully trained the staff and sensitised all polling agents to the counting process. This includes deployment of paramilitary and police personnel as well as detailed checking of arrangements for the counting staff and agents.
They said a three-tier security cover has been put in place around the counting centres in Srinagar, Baramulla and Anantnag to ensure that no unauthorised person can enter the premises. Tight surveillance has been maintained around the strong rooms housing the electronic voting machines since the end of polling in the respective constituencies. 66 candidates are in the fray for the three Lok Sabha seats in the Kashmir Valley. Key candidates for the three seats include PDP president Mehbooba Mufti, National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah, separatist-turned-mainstream leader Sajad Gani Lone and former MLA Sheikh Abdul Rashid alias Engineer Rashid, who is currently lodged in Tihar jail in a UAPA case. Counting of over 23.94 lakh votes in Jammu and Kathua will decide the fate of 34 candidates, including senior BJP leader and Union minister Jitendra Singh, sitting Jammu MP Jugal Kishore Sharma and former ministers Choudhary Lal Singh and Congress’ Raman Bhalla. Returning officer and Jammu district magistrate Sachin Kumar Vaishya said, “All arrangements have been made for the counting of votes on June 4. Three-tier security has been put in place.” Vaishya, who reviewed the security measures, logistics and necessary facilities at the counting centres, said the counting process will take place at Polytechnic College and MAM College. “The counting of votes of seven assembly constituencies will take place at MAM College, while the counting of votes of 11 assembly constituencies will take place at Polytechnic College,” he said. “All counting staff are fully trained and all political parties and their agents have been briefed and issued I-cards. Elaborate arrangements have been made keeping in mind traffic and security,” Vaishya said. CCTV cameras have been installed at the counting centres and arrangements have been made for videography. A three-tier security arrangement has also been put in place for the counting of votes for the Udhampur Lok Sabha constituency in Kathua on Tuesday. Kathua Superintendent of Police Anayat Ali Choudhary took stock of the area and said elaborate security arrangements have been made. Choudhary said security has been beefed up along the International Border (IB) and inter-district checkpoints to monitor and prevent any anti-social or anti-national activities. The counting centre for the Udhampur Lok Sabha seat has been set up at the Government Degree College in Kathua, which is equipped with multi-layered security and 24×7 CCTV surveillance. Counting of votes from 18 assembly constituencies, including Kathua, Udhampur, Doda, Ramban and Kishtwar, will be done in designated halls. “Three halls have been designated for counting Electronically Transmitted Postal Ballot System (ETPBS) votes,” said Returning Officer Dr Rakesh Minhas. A total of 225 tables, each manned by three staff, will facilitate the counting process. Sixty tables have been designated for ETPBS votes, each manned by a counting agent, a micro observer, a supervisor and an assistant returning officer (ARO), officials said. CCTV footage of the EVM strong rooms has been shared with representatives of political parties. They said around 10,000 staff will handle the entire counting process, including shifting of electronic voting machines (EVMs) from the strong rooms to the counting halls.
