MP complain of interruption of CCTV camera in strong room in counting centre Chennai ,May 8 (IANS) Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) general secretary and Member of Parliament from Villupuram Lok Sabha seat,D.Ravikumar has lodged a complaint on the interruption of CCTV coverage in strong rooms at the Arignar Anna Government Arts College. In his complaint lodged with the Returning Officer and Collector ,C.Palani on Wednesday (May8) said that his representative had informed him about the interruption of the CCTV coverage in strong rooms where the EVM’s of Tindivanam and Villupuram assembly constituencies. Ravikumar who is also seeking re-election from Villupuram Lok Sabha constituency told the concerned officials that the CCTVs stopped functioning at 7.28 a.m. on May 8, and resumed recording at 8.10 a.m., after repairs. The RO, along with the police and revenue officials visited the spot and inspected the cameras and instructed the person maintaining the CCTVs to take preventive measures. The Villupuram MP also said that he visited the spot and inquired into the incident. He said that the official maintaining the CCTVs informed him that there was an interruption in coverage due to lightning and thunder. Though the displays were not working for about 42 minutes, the recording was disturbed only for 2 minutes. He also said that there was an interruption in the CCTV coverage for about 30 minutes on May 3 and that he had raised a similar complaint on the same day. It may be recalled that the Election Commission of India (ECI) had clearly stated that uninterrupted power supply must be ensured at strong room locations throughout the EVM storage period. Ravikumar also called upon the Returning Officer Chief Electoral Officer to ensure that local electricity standby generators should be in place to ensure uninterrupted power supply. He also called upon the RO to follow the directive of the EC and take all necessary measures to safeguard the EVMs kept in the strong rooms. —IANS aal
