Chennai: Even if you haven’t got voter slips or your voter ID card, you can vote as long as your name is on the electoral rolls. This was the promise of Tamil Nadu’s chief electoral officer Satyabrata Sahoo on election eve.
Polling is open for 12 hours from 7am on Tuesday, with the last hour reserved for Covid patients. But everyone will have to wear masks to the polling booths, where their temperature will be taken before they are given a glove to go in and press the button of their choice on the EVM. Given that more polling stations were added as auxiliary due to Covid-19, the voters could check their booths on the commission’s NVSP portal or helpline 1950 with STD code.
The flying squad teams and special surveillance teams and other enforcement agencies had seized cash and other materials worth Rs 433.92 crore until Monday
CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu votes on Tuesday amid complaints of voter bribery from both AIADMK and DMK and seizures of more than Rs 230 crore in cash, besides a protest demonstration in one village demanding cash.
Chief electoral officer Satyabrata Sahoo said his office has not received any communication from the Election Commission of India (ECI) on rescinding polls, following complaints of distribution of cash to voters by parties, in any assembly segment.
Earlier in the day, the ruling AIADMK complained to the chief electoral officer seeking countermanding of polls in five assembly segments, where DMK leaders are contesting. These were Kolathur (DMK president M K Stalin), Chepauk – Triplicane (Udhayanidhi Stalin), Katpadi (general secretary S Durai Murugan), Trichy West (principal secretary K N Nehru) and Tiruvannamalai (former
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CHENNAI: The city police have issued prohibitory orders barring any assembly or meeting in public places from April 1 to 30 under Section 144 of CrPC.
The order passed by commissioner Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal specifically bars assemblies, processions, fasts, demonstrations, human chain meetings within city limits during the said period. The implementation of other guidelines and restrictions mentioned in the order will be issued by the revenue and disaster management department.
The order was passed keeping in mind the assembly election on April 6 and the raging coronavirus pandemic, a police source said.
People who have a wedding or a funeral in the house don t come under the regulatory orders. The order further said, Applicants are advised to apply for grant of permission at least five days in advance.
Chennai airport
CHENNAI: Customs officials at Chennai international airport seized gold, iPhones, used laptops and cigarettes from a passenger. The seized items are worth Rs 11.13 lakh.
Mohamed Abdulla, 40, of Pudukkottai, who arrived from Dubai in a flydubai flight (FZ-8517), was intercepted by customs officials as he was trying to rush through .
On questioning, he appeared to be nervous and his voice was not clearly audible. He was asked to remove his mask which he resisted initially. His mask appeared to be unusually heavy.
On cut opening the mask, a brown colour pouch wrapped with adhesive tapes was found sandwiched between two masks stitched together.
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CHENNAI: Active cases in Tamil Nadu on Monday touched 5,149, crossing the 5,000-mark after nearly 51 days. While 836 fresh cases were reported across the state - highest in 67 days - in the worst-hit Chennai, the count crossed 300-mark for the first time this year to touch to 317. The city s active case count stood at 2,023 on Monday.
On January 23, active cases in the state dropped to 4,984 cases for the first time since May, 10, 2020. Cases continued to fall until the second week of February when reports about fresh clusters started emerging almost every day from Chennai, Chengalpet, Kancheepuram, Tiruvallur, Coimbatore, Tirupur and Thanjavur districts.