Upset over candidates not paying heed to their problems of the coastal road project, the residents of Worli Koliwada boycotted polling on Monday.
According to Mumbai Mirror, around half of the 41,000 registered voters living in Worli Koliwada didn’t turn up to vote, and many of those who did chose the option of NOTA (none of the above). Vedant Katkar, a local resident and former secretary of Worli Koliwada Nakhwa Matsya Vyavsay Sahakari Society told the leading daily, “We had already declared that we will boycott the elections since neither of the two main contenders took up the cause of the fishermen who will be directly affected by the construction of the coastal road. Those who own fishing boats didn’t go to vote all. And many others chose NOTA.”
The residents of Worli Koilwada have said that about 157 boats have been parked at the shore for the past two months. These fishermen are out of work ever since the BMC started the construction of a jetty for the coastal road at Worli. According to the fishing community, there are more than 2,000 fishermen, fish vendors, and women fish-sellers in Worli. While one polling station recorded 45 percent voters till 3 pm, others recorded 35 percent by the same time in Worli-Koliwada.
