From avoiding Maoist attacks to hiding in the jungle, the steps this polling team took to ensure people cast their vote
As the polling officials walked to set up a booth in Odisha’s Malkangiri district, they witnessed chopped trees placed strategically on the road in their way, a clear sign of a planned ambush. Hence, the team hid in the forest for 16 hours until the jawans arrived to help them.
As the election fever grips India, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has left seemingly no stone unturned to encourage people to come out and vote.
And despite the ECI taking so many steps to conduct free and fair elections, every year, many problems get reported from across the country. From missing voter names to faulty EVMs, and acts of violence, a number of glitches are casting a shadow over the world’s biggest poll process.
Apart from this, there is also the problem of reaching out to people in remote locations to help them cast their ballot.
For instance, a polling team in Arunachal Pradesh’s Anjaw district trekked through mountains and walked through forests just to locate a single voter.
Polling officials being escorted by security personnel | Source: Hindustan Times
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However, apart from rough terrains and high altitudes, officials on election duty in some states such as Chhattisgarh and Odisha also have to deal with the Maoists. In order to escape attacks by the red rebels, around 36 polling officials in Odisha’s Malkangiri district had to take a long walk to safely reach EVMs and VVPAT machines at the district headquarters.
After conducting polls on April 11 in Booth no 12 of Barahala village under Phiringia tehsil of Kandhamal district, the team set out walking through a forest, reports New Indian Express.
According to the officials, as they walked towards their next location to set up the polling booth, they witnessed chopped trees placed strategically on the road, a clear sign of a planned ambush.
Representational Image, source Hindustan Times
The team couldn’t move any further with the EVMs, as they needed a police force to escort them. Hence, the team took shelter in the forest overnight, until help arrived after 16 hours.
Speaking of the situation to the Hindustan Times, Sudhanshu Sekhar Meher, who was heading the polling team, said,
We took biscuits and water for our dinner and got drenched in the rain as well.
The next morning, 23 CRPF jawans arrived to escort the team to a nearby paramilitary camp. After this, the team walked for 15 km with a tight security ring around them provided by the jawans.
Speaking to the Hindustan Times, Sanjeeb Panda, Additional Director General of Police said:
There was little choice available for the polling officials in view of the killing of a polling supervisor a day before. They would have faced bullets had they decided to go ahead. There was no choice left.
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