Coimbatore police makes elaborate security arrangements

The city and Coimbatore Rural District Police have made elaborate security arrangements for the first phase of local body elections to be held on Friday.

A press release from the City Police said that 72 wards in the Coimbatore Municipal Corporation; Kurichi and Kuniamuthur Grade III municipalities; Saravanampatty, Chinnavedampatty and Kalapatty town panchayats were going to polls in the first phase.

To thwart any poll-related trouble, the city police have formed 11 zonal parties each headed by an Inspector who would be provided with a wireless-fitted vehicle and 10 police constables. Each Zonal Inspector would monitor the movement of three to eight patrol teams. 60 patrol mobile teams were being formed in the city to maintain vigil in and around the polling stations. Each mobile party would be covering 70 to 90 polling stations and each officer would be equipped with a wireless talkie to mobilise additional reinforcements in the event of trouble.

Not a single building housing a polling station would be left without police cover. 127 sensitive polling booths would have Tamil Nadu Special Police security cover and 15 hypersensitive polling stations would be videographed throughout. About 850 NSS volunteers (including 16 girl students of Jeyendra Saraswathy College and GRD College) from different colleges in the city were being roped in. A total of 1,500 policemen would be exclusively on poll-related security duty, including those from the Tamil Nadu Special Police and Armed Reserve.

Police personnel from the neighbouring Kerala have arrived in large numbers and would be kept in a state of readiness for ensuring swift reaction. In the event of trouble, the public could contact the following numbers: Election Control Room - 2301782, City Police Control Room - 2300970 and Intelligence Section - 2301737.

Similarly, the Rural Police have made elaborate arrangements in Pollachi and Mettuppalayam Municipalities going to polls in the first phase in addition to eight panchayat unions such as Annur, Gudimangalam, Karamadai, Kinathukkadavu, Periyanaickenpalayam, Pollachi (North), Sarkarsamakulam and Thondamuthur. In rural areas, 25 town panchayats and three grade-III municipalities such as Kavundampalayam, Kuniamuthur and Kurichi are going to polls.

Source : The Hindu