Bhubaneswar: The Election Commission has made elaborate preparations for counting of votes for 21 the Lok Sabha and 147 Assembly seats in Odisha.
Counting will be held in 70 centres throughout the state starting at 8 am on Tuesday, officials said.
Over 2.5 crore voters exercised their franchise in the four-phase elections, with a turnout of 74.44 per cent, higher than the 73.09 per cent recorded in 2019, Odisha chief electoral officer Nikunja Bihari Dhal told a press conference here on Monday.
Of the total electors, 75.55 per cent women and 73.37 per cent men voted in this election.
More than 67,000 ballot units, along with 1.47 lakh postal ballots for Lok Sabha elections and 1.46 lakh for assembly elections, will be tallied across the 70 centres.
Counting halls have been air-conditioned due to the heatwave, with power generators on standby, CCTVs installed, and fire fighting teams stationed.
Adequate provisions for drinking water and ORS have also been made.
Each EVM counting table will have one counting supervisor, one counting assistant, and one micro observer, he added.
A total of 5,777 counting supervisors, 5,233 counting assistants, and 5,396 micro observers have been appointed. Additionally, the Election Commission has assigned 124 special observers to oversee the counting process.
Security measures have been intensified with 60 companies of central armed police force (CAPF) and Odisha armed police force deployed at counting centres, along with another 89 CAPF companies for maintaining law and order after the results are announced.
PTI
