Age, heat, sickness no bar for voters in Sirsa

Anil Kakkar

Sirsa, May 25

On Saturday, despite scorching heat, voters remained committed to vote for the ‘hot seat’ or Sirsa Lok Sabha seat. The administration’s arrangements proved inadequate amid the mercury rising to 47°C and almost every booth facing a shortage of drinking water. Voters, drenched in sweat, were seen waiting in queues to cast their votes. Voting started at 7 am, and lines begun forming at booths two to three hours prior, as people left their homes early to avoid the heat. However, at many booths, the slow pace of voting caused delays of up to three hours. By 9 am, the sun’s intensity had already become unbearable.

At Arya School’s Booth Nos. 62 to 67, there was significant chaos. Voters were seen wandering around, looking for their voting slips. Voters such as Balram, Raj Kumar, Krishna, Hanuman, Suman and Amesh struggled to find their slips. Raj Kumar said the Election Commission used to deliver voting slips to their houses a day or two before the voting day, but now they had to see the detail from an app or to get from the booth. Those who were not tech-savvy faced difficulties. He had been searching for his voting slip for the past two hours at the booth.

The 70-year-old Bichar Nath, who is visually impaired, sat in a corner at the polling station because he couldn’t find his voting slip either. He insisted he would vote but had been waiting for two hours without assistance. Similarly, Deepak, a first-time voter, had no idea where his booth was since he hadn’t received his voting slip.

The most notable issue was the lack of drinking water at the polling centres. People who didn’t bring water were seen searching for it. At booths 64-65, the voting process was so slow that people who queued up at 7 am could only vote by 11 to 11:30 am, leaving them quite frustrated. Officials concerned arrived at the polling station on receiving the information but could not improve the situation.

Voter Kanhaiya Lal reported that his 80-year-old bedridden mother was asked to come to the booth to vote. He said the administration had promised that elderly voters could vote from home, but no one came to facilitate this.

Meanwhile, 20-year-old Kashish, who came to vote with her 70-year-old grandmother Geeta, was happy. Geeta said she always votes and was delighted that her granddaughter cast her vote for the first time this election.

Roshni Devi, a 60-year-old paralysed woman, was brought to the polling station on a cart by her family.

At the Sri Sanatan Dharma Sanskrit College Booths No. 47, 48, 49 and 50 of Sirsa district, long lines of voters were observed. However, there was no drinking water available. The college had only one water cooler, which ran out of water no sooner than the voting begun. Voters stood in the sun, waiting to cast their votes.

Mini Rani, voting for the first time with her father, was very happy. At booths 21 and 22, 63-year-old Joginder Kumar and his 62-year-old wife Veeran Rani were happy after voting, too. Joginder, a patient, said he was satisfied to exercise his voting right despite the extreme heat.

The Pink Booth at Government Women’s College also saw activity. This booth, especially set up for women, had 43-year-old Manjula Devi expressing her pleasure that all officials were women.

The 65-year-old Atma Ram, who was on a wheelchair, arrived to vote at the booth at Government Primary School, Shah Satnam Chowk. Despite being unable to walk, he came to vote and encouraged others to do the same. This booth faced restroom issues. People in long lines faced difficulties as the bathrooms had no water, causing problems particularly for the security forces, especially female police officers and female voters.

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