Big day: Polling centres all geared up

Trichy/Madurai: Trichy and Madurai districts are geared up for polling on Thursday, with all booths equipped with basic amenities, and comprehensive security arrangements in place to ensure a smooth and peaceful voting process.Electronic voting machines (EVMs) were dispatched from taluk offices to polling stations on Wednesday under tight security in the presence of officials. In Madurai, EVM machines have been dispatched to around 3,079 polling stations across the city to be set up overnight. As many as 3,695 ballot and control units, along with 4,001 Voter Verifiable Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) machines have been deployed at the polling stations, along with stationery, ink, registers as well as t-shirts for use by election officials. In Trichy, as many as 5,621 ballot units, 3,341 control units, and 3,619 VVPAT machines have been arranged across the district. Police personnel have been deployed across urban and rural areas to maintain law and order. Additional reinforcements included home guards, paramilitary personnel, CRPF, and CISF. Polling personnel have been deployed across all 2,787 booths in Trichy. As many as 21,47,051 voters are expected to cast their votes across nine constituencies — Manapparai, Srirangam, East, West, Thiruverumbur, Lalgudi, Mannachanallur, Musiri, and Thuraiyur.In Madurai, basic facilities and amenities, including drinking water, washrooms as well as ramps and wheelchairs to aid disabled voters have been arranged at polling centres. However, activists in Trichy flagged the lack of adequate infrastructure for people with disabilities (PwDs). "There are many booths in rural areas where there are no ramps, or the ramps are too steep, such as the one in Navalpattu. Even in the city, booths near Palakkarai (130, 131) lack proper facilities for the disabled," said Kamaraj M, an activist.In Madurai, pink polling booths have been arranged for women voters, staffed entirely by women. One women-only polling centre has been set up for each of the 10 constituencies in Madurai, with a play area for children. Each polling centre is equipped with cameras providing 360-degree supervision, constantly being monitored by officials. Phones and other electronic devices will have to be submitted at a designated spot before voters go to cast their vote.cVIGIL app has been launched for voters to report grievances or complaints regarding the voting process, or breaches in the model code of conduct. After the voting closes at 6pm on Thursday, the EVM machines will be returned to the strong rooms in each zone and sealed. Selfie stations have been provided at polling centres in an effort to improve voter participation among residents.