Waterlogging in Godavari Districts Constrains Voters From Reaching Polling Booths
Stagnant rainwater around polling stations in Godavari districts forced voters to wade through knee-deep water, while some returned without casting their ballots.
ZPTC and MPTC elections ended peacefully across the Kakinada, Konaseema, Eluru, and East and West Godavari districts on Thursday, barring a few isolated incidents. Candidates in some places accused one another of facilitating bogus voting.
However, what caused hardship to voters is rainwater stagnating around several polling stations. As a result, some of the voters even returned home without casting their votes.
For example, the polling premises at Katrenikona High School resembled a pond. Voters initially showed little interest in reaching the polling booths in the school. A woman voter said walking through stagnant water mixed with drainage could cause abrasions on her feet and leave her in pain for a week.
At another similar polling booth, voters expressed anger over the authorities' failure in draining the water. One of the contesting candidates took the initiative to level the premises with soil.
Similar conditions have been reported in Allavaram mandal of Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema district, like the polling booth on the outskirts of Komarigiripatnam. One voter suffered a serious injury after his leg struck a rusted iron gate, causing heavy bleeding. He left without casting his vote.
Some voters complained that presiding officers ignored their concerns. In parts of Katrenikona mandal, booth-level officers (BLOs) reportedly failed to distribute voter slips, saying they did not have them.
In Razole, P. Gannavaram, and Mummidivaram constituencies, several polling stations at government schools and hospitals remained inundated. Women and elderly voters had to wade through knee-deep water to reach the polling booths.
At Chintalapudi in Eluru district, a woman voter criticised officials for failing to drain stagnant water, saying women had to struggle before reaching the polling booth.
Several elected representatives and political leaders have exercised their franchise in the ZPTC and MPTC elections. Denduluru MLA Chintamaneni Prabhakar stood in the queue to cast his vote. Kothapeta MLA Bandaru Satyananda Rao voted at Vadapalem in Kothapeta mandal, while Datla Subba Raju cast his vote at Muramalla in I. Polavaram mandal.