For the first time in more than 60 years, 89-year-old Baburao Ramchandra Akhade won’t make the 3-hour trek to Sanghvi village to cast his vote. A polling booth will be set up in his village, Burudmal, which is part of Maharashtra’s Baramati constituency – long synonymous with Sharad Pawar but now the stage for a contest between his daughter Supriya Sule and his nephew’s wife Sunetra Pawar.
Akhade’s poll day routine has changed thanks to a 3km link road that was built just before polls were announced in March, enabling Election Commission to plan a polling booth in Burudmal’s zilla parishad primary school. So, the village’s 40-odd voters, including Akhade’s 73-year-old wife Savitribai, will be able to vote in comfort on May 7.
Burudmal has the smallest voter population in Pune district. Its residents belong to a nomadic tribe where education has been scarce. Savitribai, who can’t read or write, never misses a poll but says she “clicks on a symbol” per the advice of her husband and sons.
Akhade, who is Burudmal’s oldest voter, also says, “None of us knows who is contesting, which leaders have changed parties, or who has missed the ticket. They do not even know we exist.”
So why do they vote re ligiously? “We’ve been voting for decades simply because everyone says it would help in the village’s development. There is no choice,” says Savitribai.
And change has crept in over the years. The road is one example, the village school where they’ll vote is another. Savitribai says her kids studied in an ashramshala in Pangari vil lage, 10km away, but “my grandson does not have to go that far. We now have a school in our village.”
Three years ago, Burudmal also got electricity. So, yes, while the village youth have to move to Mumbai and Pune for jobs, they can come back to vote. And everybody in Burudmul votes. Chandrabhaga Akhade, a resident, says the new road will make it easier for people to come home this time on polling day: “Some have even booked private cars for the occasion.”
Bhausaheb Turkunde, a teacher at the zilla parishad school, travels 60km daily from Bhor. He recalls how visiting Burudmal or bringing goods to it was a laborious task until a few weeks ago. “We faced challenges even in getting the mid-day meal ration to our school, as the terrain was dangerous for vehicles. From the main road, we had to carry sacks of rice and pulses to the school on our backs.”
Gram panchayat member Mahesh Gore says a tourist died last year when he tried to drive his car through the treacherous route despite being told to park and walk. “The others in the car got off while he tried to navigate a very dangerous ‘S’ bend. He lost control, and the car plunged into the deep valley. A rescue team from the village found him dead.”
But with the new road, Burudmal residents are hopeful more visitors, tourists and land buyers will arrive. “It will help us earn some money,” Gore says.
Bhor taluka’s tehsildar Sachin Patil says, “Burudmal’s villagers have shown their determination to vote. It’s a testament to the value they place on their democratic right and civic responsibility.”
Source Agencies
