Every election, the Election Commission of India (EC) encounters challenges in ensuring that every eligible person gets to exercise his/her franchise. This time, too, officials are reaching out to voters living in isolated areas of Tamil Nadu.
To reach one such place, Kuttaiyur, a village on the Tamil Nadu- Karnataka border, officials have to travel across two States — 54 km by road in Tamil Nadu and 29 km in Karnataka. The nondescript habitation, with 312 voters, falls in the Bargur panchayat in the Tiruppur Lok Sabha constituency. The village, which comes under the Anthiyur Assembly constituency, is located 27 km from the Kadambur Hills.
Officials have to travel 83 km from Anthiyur to reach the Government Tribal Residential Middle School in the village, which is the polling booth. A vehicle carrying poll materials travels 54 km, along the stretches of the Bargur Hills, to reach Kargekandi in Chamarajanagar district in Karnataka. From here, it travels about 24 km to Jallipalayam village, also located on the border, and 750 metres further to reach the village, according to an official. This distance is covered in three hours. “After polling, machines are transported to a counting centre at Tiruppur, 155 km from the village,” the official added.
Another route to reach the village is a pathway through the forests. Those taking this risky route can go up to Makkampalayam village, 5 km from Kuttaiyur. “There are no roads, but only boulders on the 5-km stretch from Kuttaiyur to Makkampalayam. There is a risk of electronic voting machines getting damaged [if vehicles travel on this route],” said another official. In the previous elections, a mini-lorry was used to transport machines and officials, and the forest and police department personnel assisted the officials by providing them with walkie-talkies since the village had issues with mobile connectivity.
The Kuttaiyur villagers depend on a pick-up vehicle to reach Makkampalayam and board a bus to reach government offices at Anthiyur. They have to go to Jallipalayam to buy essential commodities, and for medical needs. They said no candidate had visited them yet for the coming election, even as they vote in every election.
