GOPALGANJ/SIWAN: It was like a mahayajna for the people of Gopalganj and Siwan districts and they made it a point to participate in it with great enthusiasm.
The 2010 Bihar assembly elections also gave an opportunity to several young voters to exercise their franchise for the first time. Thousands of voters, particularly women and girls, waited for hours in long queues to exercise their franchise at different booths in both the districts under the scorching sun.
At a booth in Bishambharpur located in the riverine belt of Gopalganj district, the women remained ahead of their male counterparts in casting their votes. They reached the polling booth at around 7 am to cast their votes early and then do their household chores. Though they had to wait for over two hours, it did not deter them. “We have come to cast our votes as the atmosphere has changed these days,” they said.
In Gopalganj, a physically challenged girl, Sandhya covered a distance of three km to cast her vote for the first time. A student of Kamala Rai College, said that she has come to cast her vote for good governance. “The atmosphere in the entire Gopalganj district has changed. Earlier, the girls dared not come out of their houses after sunset,” she said.
Satyabhama, an masters student at Kamala Rai College in Gopalganj, said that women constitute half of the total population in the state.
A group of young girls at a booth at Barauli – Arpana Kumari (BA Part II student), Babita (BA Part II) and Kalpana (Inter student) – had come to cast their votes for the first time. Bubbling with enthusiasm, they waited in queues for two hours before they were able to cast their votes.
At a booth in Primary School at Kuchaikot, 45-year-old Kamlawati Devi said that she left all her household work to cast her vote. “It is only after casting my vote that I will cook food for my family members,” she said.
Meanwhile, the peaceful atmosphere at Basic School at Gopalganj was vitiated as a police constable, Pramod Kumar Pandey, in an inebriated condition, created a scene there. Gopalganj DM Bala Murugan D said that the police constable was not deployed there, rather he was asked to perform his duty at Control Room. “He was arrested and an FIR was lodged against him. Gopalganj SP K S Anupam has placed him under suspension,” the DM said.
Polling in Siwan district was carried out admist tight security arrangements. Forces were deployed at each and every booth across the district. Each and every vehicle was thourougly checked by the policemen at different points.
Even in Siwan, a large number of women turned out at booths to cast their votes. At booth no 107 at Barhariya, a 90-year-old woman, Kusuma Devi, fell ill while standing in the queue. Though her family members took her for treatment, she died midway.
At booth no 21(Ka) at Barhariya, a polling personnel Jugal Kishore Prasad suffered a paralytic stroke and was rushed to PMCH for treatment.
Attired in jeans and T-shirts, several young girls came to cast their votes for the first time. At Maharajganj, Rubi, a BA student, said that it was the first time that she has cast her vote.
An elderly woman, Sushila Abhai said that if people do not turn up to cast their votes, it would ring the death knell of democracy.
Read more: Women, girls outnumber men in Gopalganj, Siwan – The Times of India http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Women-girls-outnumber-men-in-Gopalganj-Siwan/articleshow/6832636.cms#ixzz13o5ehrkf