HOPE ISLAND (Kakinada)
A dedicated team constituted of Central Armed Police Force personnel, wildlife authorities, and polling staff is set for a risky voyage in Kakinada Bay to conduct the polling in Hope Island, a tadpole-shaped sand spit formed a century ago off the Kakinada coast in Andhra Pradesh.
Inhabited by as many as 50 fisherfolk families, the island is part of the Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS). All the families here depend on fishing in the sea and earning a livelihood in small-scale fishing activity.