Thiruvananthapuram’s coast witnesses heavy polling in phases; no major untoward incidents reported from the region

Women waiting to cast their vote at St. Philomena’s Girls High School, Poonthura, in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday. | Photo Credit: S. MAHINSHA

The coastal areas of Thiruvananthapuram adhered to its traditional voting pattern, experiencing high voter turnout during the early and final stages of the voting process on Friday.

The soaring mercury levels significantly impacted proceedings, causing serpentine queues at many polling stations right from the start. To avoid the sweltering heat later in the day, many voters opted to cast their ballots early, resulting in a slump in turnout at several centres after 11 a.m.

Attempt to jump queues

Tempers flared at certain centres when individuals attempted to jump queues to escape the unrelenting heat. Pallithura Higher Secondary School, which surprisingly had a considerably low police presence, witnessed such scenes.

Election officials had put in a number of measures to help voters and others beat the unprecedented heat. At St. Joseph’s Lower Primary School in Kochuveli, Kudumbashree workers ran a stall to supply water and snacks to the public, police, and election officials at the ‘critical’ polling station that had 5,350 registered voters.

Security was stepped up at critical and sensitive booths with paramilitary forces and officials of the Tamil Nadu police deployed to maintain law and order. Security schemes were drawn up in view of such stations’ history of untoward incidents.

While no major violence was reported, the poll proceedings in certain areas along the coastal belt necessitated the intervention of the security officials. The police and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel had to step in to remove an unauthorised poll agent from the polling station at Government Lower Primary School in Perumathura after activists of the rival party cried foul.

Minor altercation

Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Congress workers were also engaged in a minor altercation over the distribution of slips outside St. Mary’s Higher Secondary School in Kottappuram. The police officials resorted to forceful tactics to disperse the activists.

Technical snags were reported from a few polling booths in the region. Faulty VVPAT machines had to be replaced at various places, including at St. Vincent’s High School in Chittattumukku and Government Lower Primary School in Perumathura.