Balaghat (Madhya Pradesh): Only 40 citizens will cast their votes at a polling booth at Vangram in Sonewani village, and this is reportedly the smallest polling booth in the state.
According to sub-divisional magistrate and electoral officer of Waraseoni Kamini Thakur, the people of Gond family, who belong to the ST community, live in Sonewani village.
These people had to go to a polling booth in NavegaonTekadi, 20km away from their village, to cast votes.
They had to walk 20 km to reach the polling booth, and, on the way, wild animals attacked them, so they could not cast votes.
Their inability to reach the polling booth had an impact on the voting percentage, Thakur said.
Keeping that in mind, the EC has set up a polling booth at a primary school at Vangram in Sonewani village, so that the people of this village may cast votes, she said.
Because it is surrounded by green woods, it is called green booth and painted in green.
There are nine houses in the Sonewani village where 12 families comprising 60 members live there.
Chief executive officer of LalbarraJanpad Panchayat Chandra Singh Mandloi said the Sonewani polling booth is 45 km away from Lalbarra development block.
People have to walk, because the forest road is closed, he said.
These people had to go to Tekadi polling booth, 20km away from their village, so a new polling booth was set up to facilitate the villagers, he said.
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