NASHIK :
All obsolete Electronic Voting Machines which were used for elections in the district will be destroyed following order by the Election Commission of India. They will be sent back to the manufacturers where these will be destroyed as per protocol. A total of 12,795 M1 model of EVMs will be destroyed.
The M1 model of EVMs produced up to 2006 were last used in 2014 general elections and were discarded as they were not compatible with the VVPAT or the voter verified paper audit trail machines that are now mandatory to use along with the EVMs.
With use of VVPAT machine, the allegations of interference in machine have been stopped. There is a possibility of allegations of interference in obsolete machines. The Election Commission of India has already instructed to destroy the EVMs that were produced upto 2006.
The election department in the district has completed a process in direction of this. The department re-inspected the EVMs that have been kept in a godown at MERI for the last week. The process has been completed.
5,952 ballot units and 6,273 control units manufactured by Electronics Corporation of India Ltd, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh will be sent back to it to destroy them.
A total 13 trucks of Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation carrying these left for Tirupati on Friday morning. 570 ballot units manufactured by BEIL company in Pune will also be sent back.
