A representative image of a person casting vote.
Credit: PTI File Photo
Mangaluru: Banjarumale, an interior hamlet in Belthangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada district, recorded 100 per cent voting in the Lok Sabha election on Friday.
This hamlet has 111 voters and each one of them turned up at the only polling booth, completing voting two hours before polling ended at 6:00 pm.
The hamlet is inhabited by forest dwellers, tribal farmers and collectors of minor forest waste. Despite having no power or transport connectivity, the people survive in the forest using water from the perennial water sources in the hills of the Western Ghats.
To reach their taluk headquarters Belthangady, the people have to travel via Mudigere by bus or walk eight kilometres through the dense forests, but they all made sure to vote.
The district authorities appreciated their spirit.
Anni Malekudia, a resident of the village, told PTI, “We do not complain about the lax facilities. We understand that all the facilities that are given to towns cannot be given to all villages. Nevertheless, that has not deterred us from voting in full numbers. I am sure even if there were 500 voters or more they would have all come to vote.”
In the 2023 Karnataka Assembly election, Banjarumale had recorded 99 per cent voting according to the district polling statistics.