TIRUNELVELI: Their belief in democracy is so strong that they do not want to miss out on even a single opportunity to exercise their franchise.
Meet the 18 of the 25 tribal residents of Injikuzhi, who reached Periyamyilar Kaani, a day ahead of the urban local body polls, by crossing the Papanasam dam on makeshift bamboo rafts.
Their arduous journey 'to decide a better future' does not end with just the raft ride. After getting down from the raft, the residents of the tribal settlement that comes under Ward 12 of Vickramasingapuram municipality have to trek for nearly 10 kilometres to reach Chinnamayilar Kaani where they cast their votes at Papanasam Upper Dam Primary School.
Ask the tribals and they would say they come down to Kaani and the nearby town only twice a month, that too to buy groceries from the ration shop. "However, every election, a few voters are not able to exercise their franchise. They stay back at the hamlet to take care of the elderly and the properties," said one of them.
A 41-year-old tribal, Iyyappan, a relative of the oldest member in the hamlet, Kuttiyammal, said, "This time, Kuttiyammal along with her daughter and a few senior citizens have stayed back. We have been requesting the authorities concerned to allot provision of postal votes for the elderly at the hamlet for long, but the officials are turning a blind eye," he added.