Voting was ‘’brisk’ in a remote place deep within Nagarahole tiger reserve where a polling booth was established. By 9 a.m. 7.69 per cent of the eligible voters had exercised their franchise and the polling percentage not only matched the figures in urban areas but was higher compared to the figures in some towns and cities.
But on converting the percentage into actual numbers it transpires that ‘’exactly 1 person’’ had voted by 9 a.m. two hours after the polliing began. For, this polling station located in Moorkal in the core area of Nagarahole and coming under Virajpet Assembly constituency has only 13 voters. And all are from the nearby Kollangere village.
The Election Commission in compliance with its own rules that no eligible voter should be left out and no voter should be more than 2 km from the polling booth, had made due arrangements at the Moorkal’s Government Higher Primary School – which has two students and one teacher.
During the 2018 Assembly elections, there were 29 voters from the village and since then some of them have either relocated to the forest fringes or have died.
There were as many as 10 staff manning the booth including six armed persons drawn from the CRPF who were posted there. All the staff along with the EVMs, indelible inks reached the polling station the previous day and the booth was set up. They conducted a mock round early in the morning to ensure that the system was fully functional and devoid of faults and the station opened at 7 a.m and waited. And waited. Two hours later the first voter turned up.
Returning Officer Shabhana M. Shaik said that though there are a few more polling stations in remote areas in Kodagu, Moorkal in Nagarahole had the least number of voters. Officials confirmed that by 4 p.m. the polling percentage had ‘’increased’.
S. Sreekanth of Development through Education (DEED), an NGO based in Hunsur and advocating tribal rights, said there are about 5 to 6 families in the remote village ensconced by forests and visited by tigers and leopards. No candidate has ever campaigned in these remote areas and the adivasis with their limited needs subsist on forest produce besides the ration kit provided by the Tribal Welfare department. There is no electricity though there is a borewell in the hamlet.
But notwithstanding the government’s offer of relocation, which is voluntary, the families have refused to relocate. And as long as there are eligible voters in Kollangere, the Election Commission will ensure that there is a polling station at Moorkal.
