Technology such as CCTV surveillance, web cameras, SMS services and control rooms displaying live webcast from polling booths helped voters and polling staff in Tamil Nadu on Monday.
While officials in sensitive polling booths said they felt safer because of the web cameras, voters said the SMS alert service on crowds at polling stations updated every two hours had helped them save time.
"The Election Commission's SMS service was helpful. It helped me avoid long queues," said Rajeshwari, a voter. Polling officials said youngsters had been employed to handle web cams, webcasts and SMS alert services.
Voters said it also helped as they received their polling slips as messages. "I did not receive a booth slip and so I checked the website. The ECI sent the booth slip as a message to my phone which was accepted by the officials. This service made the task so easy. In the last election, I was made to walk from one agent to the other to find my name on the list," said Prasanna.
A polling booth official at Kuniyamuthur said she was always nervous during the election because she was invariably posted at sensitive booths. "Because of these CCTV cameras, violence has reduced at polling booths. As Election Commission officials monitor the entire polling process, our work has become easier. If anyone questions us, we just have to show them the footage to resolve conflicts," said an official.
There were 275 sensitive booths in the district and 46 remote polling stations. Out of the 2911 polling booths in the district, 2002 polling booths had web cameras and live webcasts.
The SMS alert service for sending the polling percentage also made the task of officials simpler. "Instead of manual checks, we just send SMS alerts to senior officials who can check it from their work place," said an official.
In some areas such as Valparai, where network coverage is poor, VHF sets (Walkie-Talkies) distributed to officials helped them communicate better.
While officials in sensitive polling booths said they felt safer because of the web cameras, voters said the SMS alert service on crowds at polling stations updated every two hours had helped them save time.
"The Election Commission's SMS service was helpful. It helped me avoid long queues," said Rajeshwari, a voter. Polling officials said youngsters had been employed to handle web cams, webcasts and SMS alert services.
Voters said it also helped as they received their polling slips as messages. "I did not receive a booth slip and so I checked the website. The ECI sent the booth slip as a message to my phone which was accepted by the officials. This service made the task so easy. In the last election, I was made to walk from one agent to the other to find my name on the list," said Prasanna.
A polling booth official at Kuniyamuthur said she was always nervous during the election because she was invariably posted at sensitive booths. "Because of these CCTV cameras, violence has reduced at polling booths. As Election Commission officials monitor the entire polling process, our work has become easier. If anyone questions us, we just have to show them the footage to resolve conflicts," said an official.
There were 275 sensitive booths in the district and 46 remote polling stations. Out of the 2911 polling booths in the district, 2002 polling booths had web cameras and live webcasts.
The SMS alert service for sending the polling percentage also made the task of officials simpler. "Instead of manual checks, we just send SMS alerts to senior officials who can check it from their work place," said an official.
In some areas such as Valparai, where network coverage is poor, VHF sets (Walkie-Talkies) distributed to officials helped them communicate better.