Officials take 107-km tortuous route to help two elderly men cast their ballot in Gadchiroli
Gadchiroli, Apr 12: Election authorities in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district travelled on winding and treacherous tracks and through forests for 107 km to enable two elderly men to vote from their homes for the Lok Sabha polls, officials said on Friday.
The voters, aged 100 and 86, are from the Gadchiroli-Chimur constituency, which will go to polls in the first phase on April 19.
According to the District Information Office in Gadchiroli, the Election Commission has given those above 85 years and individuals with more than 40 per cent disability the option of casting their ballots from home in the upcoming general elections.
Under the initiative, election officials travelled 107 kilometres from Aheri to Sironcha to reach the homes of 100-year-old Kishtayya Madarboina and 86-year-old Kishtayya Komera who have mobility issues but were keen to exercise their electoral rights, the official said.
Poll officials have approved the applications of 1,037 voters aged above 85 and 338 “divyangs” for voting from home in the Gadchiroli-Chimur constituency, he said.
So far, 1,205 home voters have cast their ballots.
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Udupi CNG fuel shortage: Long queues of vehicles has become a common sight
Udupi (Karnataka) Apr 29: The coastal district of Udupi is going through a severe shortage of Compressed Natural Gas for Automotive applications.
Although the number of CNG fuel-based vehicles is increasing, the number of CNG filling stations in Udupi district has not risen. In the existing bunks, the supply is not as high as the demand. Due to this, motorists, especially rickshaw drivers have to wait for hours to get their fuel tanks filled.
“I've been waiting for not less than four-five hours everyday for the past one week. Most of the time my vehicle is idle and I am not able to take up fares, as a result of which I have lost so much of income and my bank obligations will take a beating if this continues any longer," Sundar Shetty, a rickshaw driver in Udupi said.
CNG fuel is not being supplied to existing bunks as per demand. And as the demand is high, the stock depletes quickly and sometimes the rickshaws are parked overnight in a queue for early morning refuelling, leaders of the CNG Autorickshaw Drivers Association said.
In Udupi town, there is only one bunk that has CNG facility, but most of the time it is empty.
“Due to high investment on land, equipment and daily stocks, there are not many takers for this business” the bunk owners said.
There is only one CNG station in Kundapura taluk out of three in Udupi district. There are more than 5,000 CNG based vehicles in the district.
The sight of hundreds of rickshaws and other vehicles waiting to fill CNG fuel at the CNG bank in Koteshwar every day from 4 am is very common.
Sometimes one has to wait till 8-9 o'clock. However, there is no guarantee that everyone will get fuel. Similar are the conditions in Karkala and Kundapur taluks of Udupi district.
The rickshaw drivers and other CNG users have appealed to the Udupi district authorities and approached the Udupi Chamber of Commerce and Industry to put pressure on the government to normalise supply and to open more bunks.
