‘No damage to EVMs in Lucknow strong-room’

The Election Commission Sunday denied any damage to the electronic voting machines (EVMs) due to seepage from an overhead water tank in a strong-room where the machines were kept after the voting here Feb 19.

Poll panel observers Arvinder Singh and Aseem Khurana, who were specially detailed to unlock and inspect the heavily guarded strong-rooms, declared the EVMs “safe and unaffected by the water that had collected all over the floor of the rooms”.”

“The EVMs of both the constituencies were carried to the Lucknow Polytechnic where counting of votes is scheduled on March 6,” said a commission official.

“Candidates who were in the fray for the two seats were also allowed access to the two strong-rooms along with the EC observers to see that no damage was caused to the EVMs on account of the water”, he said.

Earlier, confusion prevailed throughout the day as word spread that heavy leakage of water from the overhead tank had flooded the two rooms where EVMS of two local constituencies – Sarojini Nagar and Mohanlalganj – of Lucknow district were kept since polling here in the fourth phase of the seven-phase elections.