the goan I network
MARGAO
Ahead of the counting of votes for the South Goa Lok Sabha constituency on May 23, the counting centre at the Multipurpose Centre, Borda, has been literally converted into a fortress, with armed para-military personnel maintaining strict vigil around the place.
Around a 1000 CISF, IRB and Goa police, besides traffic police will be deployed in and around the counting centre on Thursday. While another 1000 Goa police personnel will be deployed across South Goa to avert any law-and-order situation post-declaration of results.
District Magistrate and Returning Officer for the South Goa Lok Sabha constituency Ajit Roy chaired a high-level security meeting at the district headquarters on Wednesday evening, which was attended by the district police chief, Arvind Gawas, senior officials of the CISF force manning the multipurpose counting centre, besides Additional Collectors, Johnson Fernandes and Surendra Naik.
SP South Arvind Gawas told The Goan that the meeting took stock of the situation in and around the counting centre as well as the entire South Goa district post-counting.
He said two companies of CISF personnel will be in-charge of security at the counting centre. Besides, three platoons of IRB, around 450 Goa police personnel and over 250 traffic police personnel will deployed outside the counting centre as a precautionary measure. “We have made full proof security and traffic arrangements at the counting centre on Thursday. Nearly a 1000 personnel will be deployed in and around the complex as a precautionary measure,” he said.
SP Gawas further said that around 1000 Goa police personnel will be on the job to patrol the vulnerable areas in the entire district as a precautionary measure to ensure there’s no untoward incident post-declaration of result.
