Taking the right to vote to the woods

A booth at Pooppara has been a long-standing demand of the Muthuvan tribe

Tribespeople from Pooppara hamlet deep inside Parambikulam Tiger Reserve use their traditional country boats to cross the reservoir and reach the local bazar. They are now demanding a separate polling booth within their hamlet.— Photo: K. K. Mustafah

If the Election Commission approves a recommendation from the Palakkad district administration, the Pooppara tribal settlement located deep inside the Parambikulam Tiger Reserve will be the remotest polling booth in the Assembly election in the State.

Polling officials will have to travel 103 km from the district headquarters, covering Pollachi division of Coimbatore district in Tamil Nadu, to reach the tiger reserve office in Parambikulam.

From there, they will have to travel in country boats for about one hour in the reservoir before trekking through forests paths for about three hours to reach Pooppara.

118 voters

The settlement has 118 voters and it comes under Nemmara Assembly constituency.

The Muthuvan tribal community in Pooppara, which remains totally cut off from the rest of the world, has been demanding a polling booth of their own for the last several years.

The settlement, one among the most remote tribal colonies in the State, has direct road access.

Tribal families

It has 50 Muthuvan tribal families, which recently accessed solar power through a micro grid-based solar-powered electrification system sanctioned by P.K. Biju, MP.

Hitherto, they were forced to trek for 18 km and travel for one hour using country boats in the reservoir to reach Tiger Hall of Parambikulam Tiger Reserve to exercise their right to franchise.

Tiger Hall is the fourth polling booth inside the reserve. Pooppara is part of the 11th ward of the Muthalamada grama panchayat.

It was following repeated requests from the tribal community that an official delegation comprising Chittur taluk officer, Election Deputy Collector, and Returning Officer of Nemmara constituency visited Pooppara on Friday and probed the possibilities of setting up a booth there.

The taluk officer then submitted a report to District Collector, favouring the setting up of the polling booth.

The Collector has forwarded the report to the Election Commission seeking its ratification.

Officials said the polling officials to be deputed to the booth required better security from the Forest and Police Departments because of possible elephant attacks.

Accommodation facilities will also have to be provided.