Election Commission still employs donkeys to carry EVMs
Roads still unmotorable; Officials had to walk 7-km to reach poll booths
Krishnagiri\Namakkal: Voting machines have gone hi-tech in India, but donkeys are still being used to carry electronic voting machines in some backward pockets of western Tamil Nadu.
Four donkeys bearing the names of Tamil film stars — Rajni, Kamal, Ajith and Vijay — lugged the EVMs and polling materials to Kottur hills in Pennagram Assembly segment of the Dharmapuri Parliame-ntary constituency on Wednesday.
The donkeys were pressed into service as the Kottur hills do not have motorable roads. C. Chinnasamy, a washerman of Karagur village who owns the donkeys, guided the officials through the four-hour trek to reach Kottur which has about 600 voters. The EC has agreed to pay Rs 2,000 per donkey to transport the EVMs.
Two donkeys were deployed to transport EVMS to the Eriyur hamlet in Dharmapuri constituency. In Krishnagiri constituency too, donkeys were used to carry EVMs and polling material to the remote Ekkalnatham village with more than 200 voters.
In Bodhamalai in Namakkal constituency, the election officials decided to take the assistants of the village administration offices to carry the EVMs on their heads and walk up the 7-km unmotorable stretch to reach the polling booths at Keezhur and Kedamalai.
From the foothills at Vadukkam, four staff carried the two EVMs and a control unit and trudged up the rugged terrain on Wednesday morning.
About 795 voters including 391 women at Keezhur and 322 voters including 156 women will cast their vote in the elections.