Karwar: Deputy Commissioner K Harish Kumar has stated that as many as 206 CCTV surveillance cameras have been installed in 12 local organisations across the district, as part of Lok Sabha elections.
Out of 30 check-posts established in various places in the district, 20 have started working on Tuesday and remaining 10 on Wednesday, he added.
Speaking to media persons here on Wednesday, he said that all CCTV surveillance cameras have been connected with the controlling room at his office.
A hawk’s eye is being kept on most of the areas in the City through these cameras. Basic facilities like identity cards, signboards, drinking water, batteries and others. A total of 7,000 staff including police personnel will work during the elections, he added.
cVIGIL app
Speaking about the cVIGIL android application, the deputy commissioner said that the new cVIGIL app launched by Election Commission of India is expected to create a fast-track complaint reception and redressal system. cVIGIL is an innovative mobile application for citizens to report Model Code of Conduct and Expenditure violations during the elections.
‘cVIGIL’ stands for Vigilant Citizen and emphasises the proactive and responsible role citizens can play in the conduct of free and fair elections, he added.
cVIGIL, a user-friendly and easy to operate the android application, which can be used for reporting violations from the date of notifications for parliamentary elections. The uniqueness of the app is that it only allows live photo/ video with auto location capture from within the app to ensure digital evidence for flying squads to act upon in a time-bound manner, he said.
The app could be installed and used on any Android smartphone equipped with a camera, good internet connection and GPS access. By using this app, citizens can immediately report on incidents of political misconduct within minutes of having witnessed them and without having to rush to the office of the returning officer.
cVIGIL connects vigilant citizens with District Control Room, Returning Officer and Field Unit (Flying Squads) / Static Surveillance Teams, thereby, creating a rapid and accurate reporting, action and monitoring system, the DC informed.
Process of using cVIGIL
One needs to click a picture or a two-minute video of the activity violating MCC and describe it shortly, before registering the complaint. GIS information captured with the complaint automatically flags it to the concerned District Control Room, permitting flying squads to be routed to the spot within few minutes and action will be taken in this regard within 100 minutes after lodging the complaint, he said.
There should be no delay in sending the photo and video from the time of the incident. Based on the time of capture of photo and date, action will be taken. The complainants can maintain the secrecy about themselves. If there was a delay in sending photos and videos, one can call the toll-free number and inform the officials concerned about the incident, he added.
In previous elections, there were complaints about delay in permission seeking staging campaigns, processions, rallies and landing of helicopters. Hence, this year, an application called ‘Suvidha’ has been launched.
By making use of this, the organisers can fill the applications in this app and within 24 hours, the application will be disposed of. The entire process will be paperless, he briefed.
Meanwhile, Information and Public Relations Department’s handbook containing information about previous Lok Sabha polls was released. Additional Deputy Commissioner Nagaraj Singrer, Probationary IAS officer Dileesh Sasi, City Municipal Commissioner Yogeshwar, Information & Public Relations officer Himanthraju, and others were present on the occasion.