The election authorities in Gujarat are leaving no stone unturned to ensure a good voter turnout and ensure that every eligible voter gets to vote. All the 26 Lok Sabha seats in Gujarat will go to polls in a single phase on May 7.
The Election Commission has already erected the necessary infrastructure for special polling stations. They are being set up in 11 remote areas of Gujarat including forest areas and small islands. A release from the office of the Gujarat Chief Electoral Officer gives the details.
Booth for lone voter
In Banej, inside the Gir Wildlife Sanctuary, a booth has been set up for a single voter, a temple priest, Mahant Haridasji. Banej booth comes under Junagadh Lok Sabha seat.
The nearest human-populated area from Banej is reportedly several km away. A special polling booth has been set up for this single voter during every election since 2007. The booth has been set up in the forest department office near the temple.
Another special booth has been set up in Gir Somnath district’s ‘Sap Nes Billia’, a small area inside the Gir forest with no other human habitation nearby. Since 2007, 23 male and 19 female voters have resided there, and a special polling booth in a tent has been created for them.
Fishermens’ island
Similarly, five polling booths have been set up for 5,048 voters in Shiyalbet, a small island off the coast of Amreli district, where most of the residents are fishermen. The island has a total geographical area of 75.32 hectares and has 832 houses. The island is not connected to the mainland with any bridge or road and the only way to travel to the mainland is by boat.
A similar arrangement has been made for 254 voters in Aliabet, an island in the Narmada river delta in Bharuch district. Rathda Bet is another island in the Kadana reservoir waters in Mahisagar district where poll officials reach by boat in every election. This time, too, a special polling booth has been set up for 725 voters residing on the island-village.
Other such polling stations include Satvirda Nes, Bhukhbara Nes and Kharavira Nes inside the forest of Barda mountain in Porbandar, Ajad island in the Arabian Sea close to Devbhumi Dwarka district, and Kankai polling station situated deep inside a forest in Junagadh district, where the only medium of communication is a wireless set.
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