SHILLONG: They would take a while, a very long while really, to be where their mothers were as they had the fun of their life.
To be precise, as the toddlers were bringing the roof of the crèche down, their mothers were standing in the queue at the model polling station in St Edmund’s College, Laitumkhrah to cast their votes on Thursday.
Ditto was the scene at the polling station in St Joseph’s Girls Higher Secondary School, Jaiaw.
“The crèche was a big help,” said one of the mothers as she collected her child after casting her vote and before heading home. “There was none at home to take care of him,” she said.
Creches with round-the-clock caretakers and active poll volunteers made a difference in Shillong parliamentary seat, where polling on Thursday did not otherwise seem to evoke much enthusiasm.
The creches were placed in separate rooms filled with soft toys, colour books and pencils, among other things, to keep the children busy while their parents waited to cast their vote.
When asked, the ladies who were tasked to look after the children said they faced no problem.
But did the babies cry? “No, no they were a happy lot,” said one of them at St Joseph’s Girls Higher Secondary School.
A volunteer said children who came were one year or above.
In another model polling station at Lady Keane College, young poll volunteers informed that five disabled voters had come in till then. The volunteers distributed sweets and juice to women voters and their children. There was no crèche at this polling station.
Senior citizens were not found wanting either in their enthusiasm to be a part of the festival of democracy.
Dabokso Marbaniang came to cast her vote at Seng Khasi School, Jaiaw.
Asked how she felt, she said, “I am 88 years and 2 months old. I cast my vote in every election but the last Council elections. I did not come out since I was not well.”
