Reaching to nook & cranny: Polling team to cover treacherous path to state’s smallest booth

Raipur: Deep within Chhattisgarh’s remote Bharatpur-Sonhat (ST) assembly constituency, lies a unique corner of democracy. Having only five voters, the state’s smallest and India’s second smallest polling booth under this constituency is located in Koriya district. Adding to the uniqueness of this constituency are the other two polling stations comprising 12 and 23 voters, which are located on the hilly, forested, off-road terrain where polling parties reach via tractors.Constituencies in Koriya district of North Chhattisgarh will go to polls in the second phase of 70-assembly constituencies on November 17.A temporary polling booth is set up at Sheradand region having the lowest number of voters — five — in the state. Crossing several canals and river, the polling team will reach the station with polling material a day before elections, said Vinay Langeh, Koriya district collector and electoral officer.“The polling personnel will cover a distance of 120 km from the distribution centre, of which, 15 km will be covered through tractor and then 3 km on foot, crossing a wide river and local nullah surrounded by dense forest to reach the booth. Since there is no government infrastructure in the region, a temporary booth will be constructed during polling,” he said.In 2008 assembly elections, a polling booth was temporarily set up only for two voters, which has now increased to five electors belonging to Cherva tribe. The number of voters increased to three in 2013 and five in 2018. This included the extended family of the two deceased and another family that settled here.The region is extremely backward and has the nearest Aanganwadi centre about 5 km away. However, they have access to tap water under the Nal Jal Yojana and solar panels for electricity, which are non-operational due to lack of maintenance.Another polling booth, Kanto, falling under unique category has 12 voters in Bharatpur-Sonhat constituency. It has recently been in the news after the electors here have called for poll boycott complaining absence of basic facilities in the region. Having only three families of local Gurjar community in remotely located region, Kanto residents complained of unavailability of drinking water, employment, electricity, and no roads connectivity to neighbouring places.District electoral officer, Langeh said that they have not received a single complain earlier from this region, but as soon as the information reached him through local scribes, he has sent teams to speak with the locals. He said, “We will ensure that the villagers call off the boycott and vow to exercise their voting rights. The facilities will be provided after model code of conduct is ineffective.”Bhagwati, a resident, said that there was no drinking water available in the village and they have to depend on a canal. There is no road connectivity and even electricity has not reached their village. Another Jirjodhan complained that they are contacted only during elections and then they are left alone.According to a local scribe, who managed to reach village somehow, Kanto is located about 90 km from district headquarters and in absence of an approach road to the village, 35 km non-motorable route covers dense forest and mud pathways with no sign of humans for several miles. He said that it wasn’t possible to reach Kanto without assistance of a local person. However, the polling parties will reach there via pick-up vans and establish temporary polling booths.The first-time polling booth in Kanto was introduced in 2008 after the delimitation process when it had eleven electors.Rewala polling station, having 23 electors, will see another temporary booth having no direct road connectivity. The polling personnel will cover a total distance of 70 km from the distribution centre, of which, 65 km will be covered through mini-truck and 5 km on foot by crossing a river and dense reserve forest of Guru Ghasidas National Reserve forest, to reach a booth.