Varanasi: A special workshop on the First Level Checking (FLC) of EVMs and VVPATs was held at the Circuit House auditorium in Varanasi under the chairmanship of Manish Garg, Senior Deputy Election Commissioner, Election Commission of India.The workshop was organized in line with the directions of the Election Commission of India to ensure that the FLC process of EVMs and VVPATs is conducted with quality, transparency and in accordance with prescribed standards. Officials and personnel concerned were trained in the technical and administrative procedures related to the first-level checking of EVMs and VVPATs.District Election Officers, Deputy District Election Officers and FLC Supervisors from 21 districts participated in the workshop. These districts included Varanasi, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Chandauli, Mirzapur, Sonbhadra, Bhadohi, Prayagraj, Pratapgarh, Fatehpur, Kaushambi, Azamgarh, Ballia, Mau, Gorakhpur, Deoria, Maharajganj, Gonda, Sant Kabir Nagar, Basti and Siddharthnagar.During the workshop, the Senior Deputy Election Commissioner provided guidance on key aspects of the FLC process. The Chief Electoral Officer of Uttar Pradesh and other senior officials shared necessary instructions and precautions related to the FLC of EVMs and VVPATs. Presentations were also made on technical and administrative security measures, FLC procedures and the roles of officials and master trainers at different levels.Experts provided training on the complete life cycle of EVMs and VVPATs, including machine operation, randomization, commissioning, polling process, counting of votes and post-counting procedures.A sufficient number of EVMs and VVPATs were made available at the workshop venue. BEL expert engineers gave practical demonstrations on machine operation and the FLC process. Participants also received hands-on training and practiced the prescribed procedures themselves.At the end of the training, participants were evaluated and their doubts were addressed during a dedicated doubt-clearing session. Declaration forms were also obtained from all participants, confirming that they had understood the training content and had no remaining doubts.
