Salem: Sealed electronic voting machines (EVMs) and voter-verified paper audit trails (VVPATs) were moved to the strong rooms, where counting would take place on May 4, across Salem, Namakkal, Dharmapuri, Krishnagiri and Erode districts on Friday. These centres would be under round-the-clock security until counting concludes.In Salem, EVM convoys arrived with armed escorts and their movement from the polling stations to the strong room was tracked with the help of GPS. Security is arranged in three layers at the strong room, with the Central Reserve Armed Police Forces guarding the inner perimeter, and the Tamil Nadu Special Police and local police securing the compound and entry points. DMK and AIADMK cadres are stationed outside to keep watch. In Namakkal, strong rooms would be kept under floodlights at night, with district officials maintaining logs of every entry and exit. Authorities said only authorized personnel would be allowed inside and the party representatives could only observe from outside. In Dharmapuri, where voting machines from remote hill villages were brought to strong rooms after polling, armed personnel patrolled the compound and CCTV footage was monitored live at the control room. Party workers remained outside the barricades to observe the developments. In Krishnagiri, officials said arrangements were made to prevent any tampering and the strong room was under heavy guard, with armed police at the innermost perimeter and local police regulating access. DMK, AIADMK and PMK cadres are stationed outside. In Erode, strong rooms are secured with a dual-lock system, with one key held by the election commission and another by district officials. Armed patrols and CCTV surveillance are in place, while party representatives are stationed outside.
