Mangaluru : Deputy Commissioner and Returning Officer Sasikanth Senthil S. said here on Tuesday that issues related to EVMs/VVPATs and law and order violations in Dakshina Kannada will be attended to within five minutes on Thursday, with the help of an effective communication plan. Any person found disturbing the election process will be dealt with severely.

Addressing reporters, Mr. Senthil said that the district administration has improved on the communication plan used during the 2018 Assembly elections and has mapped the 1,861 polling stations in the district, connecting them with GPS devices held by personnel of the flying squads and static surveillance teams. “Once any incident is reported, the polling personnel nearby will rush to the spot within five minutes,” he said. The operation will be monitored from the office of the District Electoral Officer in the city.

Though polling personnel have sufficient experience in handling issues concerning the possible failure of working of EVMs and VVPATS, Mr. Senthil said that two engineers have been posted per Assembly constituency to handle such issues. Sufficient spares are available to replace malfunctioning EVMs and VVPATs.

“There is no need for anybody to panic with regard to issues concerning EVMs and VVPATs,” he said and cautioned that stringent action will be taken against those who try to create tension near polling stations. “Nonsense will be tolerated,” he said.

Of the 1,861 polling stations, Mr. Senthil said, 641 have been identified as sensitive. Of these, 110 stations will have web streaming facility.

Micro observers will be regularly visiting these polling stations. Hand-held video cameras will also be used to capture the proceedings in these polling stations, he added.

With campaigning coming to an end at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, candidates can now start their house-to-house visits on Wednesday. There will be a bar on possession and sale of liqour between 6 p.m. of April 16 and midnight of April 18, Mr. Senthil said.