Noida: 1,000 personnel, drones for counting day vigil

Drone cameras, over 1,000 police personnel and three companies of PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary) will keep a strict vigil across Gautam Budh Nagar district on the day of counting of votes for the assembly elections on Thursday

Drone cameras, over 1,000 police personnel and three companies of PAC (Provincial Armed Constabulary) will keep a strict vigil across Gautam Budh Nagar district on the day of counting of votes for the assembly elections on Thursday.

Police personnel attend a meeting on the eve of election results, at the counting centre in Sector 88, Noida, on Wednesday. (Sunil Ghosh /HT)

The counting of votes for all the three constituencies in the district — Noida, Dadri and Jewar — will take place at the flower market in Sector 88, Noida and over 80% of the district’s police force will be deployed there. Officials said there will be a three-layered security arrangement at the venue to facilitate hassle-free counting of votes.

“We will keep an eye on the security arrangements through drone cameras in and around the venue of the vote counting. There are three layers of security, which include guarding the strongrooms, regulating the entry of personnel on counting duties within 500-metre radius of the vote counting centre and additional deployment of personnel in and around the centre. Three companies of PAC have also been deployed in the area,” said Love Kumar, joint commissioner of police (law and order), Gautam Budh Nagar.

One company of the PAC comprises approximately 80 personnel.

The Gautam Budh Nagar police commissioner, Alok Singh, briefed the police personnel on Wednesday regarding the security arrangements in and around the vote counting centre for safe and peaceful conduct of counting of votes. He also gave necessary guidelines to officers who will be engaged in specific duties.

“We also inspected the strongroom in the flower market and made sure that the electronic voting machines (EVMs) are protected. The CCTV cameras in the area were also inspected. Also, live recording of the strongroom is being done 24x7. We have also instructed our personnel to make sure that no people inside the strongroom or at the flower market are allowed to bring any inflammable or intoxicating substances, or any electronic devices,” said commissioner Singh.

Officials said that the counting will begin at 8am sharp at the wholesale flower market. Joint CP Kumar said that in addition to the flower market in Sector 88, police personnel have also been deployed in sensitive areas across the district.

Meanwhile, the Gautam Budh Nagar police commissionerate also issued an advisory on Wednesday evening stating that strict action will be taken against anyone found spreading rumours or making provoking social media posts regarding the elections on the day of counting of votes.

“On Wednesday, the Sector 49 police station booked one Ashray Gupta for spreading false rumours and posting provocative messages on social media websites. Senior officials took cognisance of the provocative post and an FIR was immediately registered under relevant sections,” said Anjani Singh, the station house officer (SHO), at the Sector 49 police station in Noida.

Traffic advisory

The routes around the flower market in Sector 88 will remain barricaded from 4am on March 10.

“Vehicles coming from Kulesra to Phase-2 Noida will be diverted towards the Dadri-Surajpur-Chhalera road. Vehicles going towards Surajpur via Gejha intersection will be diverted towards the Noida-Greater Noida expressway,” said a senior traffic police official.