Conducting the polls are a problem in remote tribal hamlets of Chamarajanagar because of the hilly and forest terrain and lack of easy accessibility.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The remote and hilly areas of Chamarajanagar with its dense forest protection pose logistic and different challenges for the sleek conduct of the Karnataka Assembly elections.
Presence of wild animals close to polling stations and lack of cellular network in remote villages are additionally different points which are distinctive to the area.
Hence in the run as much as the polls, the deputy commissioner D.S. Ramesh mentioned the assorted challenges along with his workers and in anticipation of the issues took measures to resolve it for the sleek conduct of the polls.
A gathering was performed with the service suppliers and it transpired that about 142 polling stations in the district didn’t obtain indicators.
But after assessing the findings, the District Tribal Welfare Department was instructed to conduct a subject test and the quantity of polling stations in network shadow space – the place no cellular indicators are acquired – was whittled right down to 16.
‘’While there are two such polling stations in Kollegal – at Puranipodu and Dasanahundi, there are 12 such polling stations in Hanur together with Dattahalli, Changadi, Tulsikere, Parasalnatha, Indiganath, Doddaane and so on and the remining two are in Chamarajanagar’’, mentioned B. Manjula, District Tribal Welfare Officer.
Communication network is crucial to not solely give an replace of the polling in progress together with the voting share each hour however can be important to convey every other info like technical snag in the EVMs, the protection of polling workers, or different growth, she added.
As there was no feasibility of establishing cellular towers in the areas the district administration determined to harness the police division’s wi-fi communication service. All the polling stations will now be supplied with walkie-talkie by the polci division to allow there was no communication hole through the polling.
In addition, the forest division may even deploy its workers in the polling stations coming underneath network shadow areas and be geared up with walkie-talkie as a standby. ‘’Arrangements are in place to make sure that the police and the forest division workers talk to the headquarters periodically as per the Election Commission’s mandate’’, mentioned Ms. Manjula.
Though the communication challenge was resolved, there’s the issue of wild animals in many of the areas. Chamarajanagar has tribal hamlets and village enclosures in B.R. Tiger Reserve, MM Hills Wildlife Sanctuary and Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. There are practically 450 to 500 elephants in Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary alone and some of the villages the place the polling stations are positioned, are in the elephant zone. Hence the protection of the voters and the polling workers can be crucial and the forest division has been roped in to offer with safety.
‘’We have been instructed to maintain a watch on elephant actions particularly in locations like Shaagya, Madiwala and a number of different locations’’, mentioned Mr. Nandesh, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary. Every polling station in the wildlife zone can have armed workers to take care of any emergency, he added.
Incidentally, many of the villages like Kokkabare, Doddaane and Tokkere can’t be simply reached in the absence of good roads given the uneven and steep terrain. The situation of the roads and remoteness of the villages discourages even political events from campaigning. The worry of wild animals additionally retains the occasion employees at bay throughout night.
Here the forest division has been offering last-mile connectivity to the villagers by working automobiles alongside forest roads. That initiative will now come in helpful for the polling workers to achieve the distant hamlets utilizing the forest observe and be certain that the voting takes place.
