Team Herald
PONDA: Voters from two wards in Bethora were forced to travel nearly seven kilometres for casting their votes, due to mistake committed by the State Election Commission in notifying polling stations.
Polling booths for ward Number 9 and 11 of Bethora Panchayat were interchanged due to a mistake in notification of polling centres. The mistake was not rectified despite the candidates brining the same to the notice of Returning Officer.
Due to this, the State Election Commission arranged two Balrath buses for transporting voters to polling centres from Ward number 9 to 11 and vice versa.
According to candidates, polling centre of ward number 11 located at Kodar was changed in notification and wrongly mentioned as Kumbarwada Nirankal which falls in ward number 9, while similar mistake happened in respect of ward number 9; the polling centre of this ward was Kumbarwada but mentioned in notification wrongly as Kodar which falls in Ward Number 11.
According to Agnel Fernandes who had arrived with his family at ward nine for voting, even if the respective polling officers and staff along with ballot papers and other stationary has been shifted the problem would have been solved. “But the RO and SEC paid no heed to it,” he added.
Madu Khandeparkar, a candidate and a former sarpanch, said that after learning about mistake in notification ten days ago, he informed the RO that voters will be inconvenienced if the same was not rectified, but the RO ignored this issue.
