THENI: A tiny polling booth at Vellimalai, which falls under the Varusanadu Union in the Andipatti Assembly constituency of Theni district, has drawn nationwide attention following remarks by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday, as the booth has only five registered voters.
The booth has been set up in the dense Vellimalai forest area near Varusanadu, specifically for workers of a private estate located deep inside the forest. Once home to hundreds of residents, after the announcement of the tiger reserve in the region, many people moved out due to restrictions imposed by the forest department. As a result, only a handful of voters now remain. Currently, just five voters namely Senthil, Jayarani, Pawel, Sudha and Rohith are eligible to cast their votes at the polling booth in the Duraisamy Maragatham Primary School, during the upcoming election.
Despite the extremely small number of voters, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has decided to establish a fully-equipped polling station there. All standard facilities, including Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs) and polling officials, will be deployed exclusively for these five voters. Officials will travel deep into the forest to ensure that every vote is exercised.
Speaking to TNIE, District Collector Ranjeet Singh said that these five employees work in a private tea estate, which lies on the Kerala-TN border. “During the last election, the number of voters was 14. Before SIR it was six, it is five now. We are making all arrangements for a smooth voting process,” he said.
He further stated that apart from this booth, two other polling stations, namely Central Station and Oothukadu, which come under the Bodinayakanur Assembly constituency, are located in areas that are inaccessible by any form of transport. “Polling officials assigned to these stations have to trek nearly 8km on foot to reach the locations. Donkeys are used to carry the EVMs and other polling materials, as vehicles cannot pass through the narrow forest paths. The officials usually start their journey a day before polling to ensure that the stations are ready on time,” he said.