Counting day goes by without incident
The Hindu
Largely peaceful due to total lockdown
Counting in four centres, which come under the Greater Chennai City Police, was peaceful and smooth since Sunday morning as elaborate security arrangements were put in place at all important places and junctions. City Police Commissioner Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal told The Hindu, “We had made elaborate security arrangements as per guidelines of the Election Commission of India (ECI). About 5,000 police personnel were deployed to maintain law and order in the outer periphery of the counting centres. All those who entered the centres were thoroughly checked and parking for vehicles was arranged near the centres. Public gatherings were not allowed due to the lockdown being in effect.” Moreover, the complete lockdown was more advantageous for the police to ensure no public gatherings occurred near counting centres, which were guarded by a three-tier security arrangement. In order to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the government announced the complete lockdown from 10 p.m. on Saturday to Monday morning. Residents were requested to avoid venturing out unnecessarily. Vehicle would not be allowed to ply on roads, except those meant for milk distribution, medical purposes and other emergencies. As the complete lockdown was in place, arterial roads in the city were deserted. Uniformed police personnel took to the roads to inspect vehicles. Flyovers and bridges were closed.“Unlike previous elections, surrounding areas of counting centres were very peaceful,” a senior police officer said.The election authorities are gearing up for the counting of votes cast in the simultaneous elections to Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in Andhra Pradesh, scheduled to be held on June 4. The Collectors and Election Officers of Visakhapatnam, Anakapalli and Alluri Sitharama Raju (ASR) districts said on May 23 (Thursday) that their teams were ready for the counting of votes.
Responding to the prolonged water scarcity, the residents of the area took to the streets in protest on Wednesday. The protest, which drew attention to their plight, stopped only after the intervention of the police. It was not until 1.30 p.m. that a 4000-litre tanker was finally delivered by BWSSB, providing relief to the water-starved residents.