2 days Ago
Pune: On Monday, a group of election officials set out for five polling stations in far-flung areas of Nandurbar district in north Maharashtra. Their journey took two days, crossing rivers on barges, travelling through back-breaking roads, and clambering up hills for about a km, said Mitali Sethi, Nandurbar district election officer. In another corner of Marathwada, polling staffers travelled through hilly train to reach Waghdhari village in Nanded.
The village has no roads, making travelling on vehicles difficult. "Till last election, there was no polling station in the village and the villagers had to go to Jaldhara, about 2 hours away, to cast their votes. But now the polling booth has come to their doorstep," said Suryakant Sidheshware, the booth level officer (BLO) of Waghdari polling station.
The village has 190 voters. The most challenging task for officials was to reach the polling stations in Bhor tehsil in the Western Ghats. A team of Election Commission officials went to the foothills in a jeep, climbed a ladder to reach the top of Raireshwar Fort.
Thereafter, they had to walk almost for two hours to reach the polling station, carting heavy bags stuffed with EVMs and other paraphernalia, said an official. One of the polling stations at Burudmaal village in the area has 19 voters. "Our officials have already reached the location," Samir Mulani, the circle officer, Bhor, said.
"It is one of the remotest polling stations in the district. "We have made proper planning to shift EVM machines after the voting on Wednesday," Rupali Gaikwad, the circle officer of the area, told TOI. Udhewadi, a village at the base of Rajmachi, is one of the remotest locations in Maval assembly constituency.
"Kunegaon, about 10 km downhill from Udhewadi, is where the last pucca road ends. There are 253 registered voters in the area. The EVMs were taken to the polling stations in jeeps.
A presiding officer as well as three staffers will stay at the Zilla Parishad school there. We have also made a provision for a health department staffer for the duration of voting," said Vikram Deshmukh, assistant returning officer for the constituency. "There are five polling stations – Manibeli, Chimalkhedi, Danel, Bamni and Mukhadi – in inaccessible areas of Nandurbar district.
The teams travelled for two days to reach the polling booths. The elections will be conducted from 7 am to 3 pm in these places to ensure the team returns from these spots before the cyclonic conditions build up, which happens generally during this time," said a district election official. Elsewhere in Jalgaon district, polling parties have for the first time been dispatched on multi-utility vehicles.
The teams have reached Ambapani polling station in Satpuda hill ranges in the district by MUVs for the first time. During the Lok Sabha elections, the teams had gone there on motorcycles. "We have made the road partially motorable to ensure small vehicles can reach there.
This time, the teams reached the polling station on MUVs," said Jalgaon collector Ayush Prasad. In western Maharashtra region, Chakdev has only 49 registered voters. Poll staffers make the nearly five-hour journey by road, boat, and trek uphill to reach the village.
The staffers have been provided with special backpacks to store and transport the EVMs. In Kolhapur district, there are 18 shadow area polling stations in remote and hilly terrains of Chandgad, Radhanagari, and Shahuwadi tehsils. Radhanagari assembly constituency has the highest 10 such shadow area polling stations at Olwan, Pingalewadi, Hasane, Digas, Bagalwadi, Chaphodi, Vadachiwadi, Bhatwadi, Chikkewadi, and Antiwade.
Four polling stations in Chandgad assembly constituency are at Kalgondwadi, Isapur, Mirval, and Bandrai, while four polling stations in Shahuwadi assembly constituency are at Shembevane, Gawadi, Kumbhawade, and Girgaon. Of these remote 18 polling stations, satellite phone testing has been carried out at 12 polling stations. The administration has enlisted 'runners' to stay connected with six polling stations that couldn't be connected through satellite phones.
On Tuesday morning, the polling teams deployed for these shadow polling stations left with EVMs and other polling-related materials. After a long journey of two to three hours by MSRTC bus and then a hike for around 20 minutes, the polling officers reached their assigned polling stations. The Election Commission is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that every voter even in the most inaccessible of areas exercise ballot.
The circle or block development officer conducts a detailed inspection of the location and ropes in locals before setting up a polling station, said the officials. In Pune district, the authorities have roped in "runners" at 37 polling stations, where there are no mobile networks, to ensure smooth communication on the polling day. These stations are in remote, hilly areas and on forts.
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