Ernakulam may be home to the metro city of Kochi.
But as elections come around, polling officials deployed in some inhospitable terrain in the district will have to brave even wild animals and depend on catamarans to reach polling booths where they are deployed.
There are 18 such booths designated as remote in the district. They are situated in areas more than an hour from the nearest block panchayats. Reaching some of them involve wading through forest and water bodies besides trekking kilometres.
Kuttampuzha panchayat under the Kothamangalam block panchayat has nine such remote booths while there are three such booths in Kadamakkudy panchayat and one each in Cheranalloor grama panchayat, Vengoor, and Mudakuzha, Thanthonnithuruth in Kochi Corporation has also been classified as remote.
Special arrangements have been put in place for these remote polling booths. Polling officials would have to depend on catamarans to take polling materials to booths set up in Pizhala Island in Kadamakkudy and Korunkotta Island in Cheranalloor panchayat. Hence strong catamarans would be deployed round-the-clock to ensure the smooth conduct of elections.
Polling officials deployed in Kuttampuzha may even have to brave even wild animals to reach booths set deep inside the forest region with jeeps the only mode to access the inhospitable terrain. Since electricity has not yet reached the region, officials will have to fall back on solar panels.
