Polling booth has highest number of voters under Shella
SHILLONG/DALIA: Dalia, which is situated in the extreme border, has a polling station exposed to the people from across the border in Bangladesh.
There is no other polling station in the entire state which is so close to the international border. Dalia has 961 voters from the 240 households.
During a visit to the area, two BSF personnel were seen guarding the area near the school which will be used as polling station.
Whenever there are elections, the curious Bangladeshi residents do visit the border to see the polling process.
Chief Electoral Officer Frederick Kharkongor said on Thursday that in the last elections, people from across the border came near the Dalia polling booth and standing close to the border fence, they witnessed the election.
The BSF personnel said there is no fear of any infiltration these days though they are keeping vigil.
The villagers said in the past when the border was porous , there was sporadic movement of Bangladeshis into India and they used to lift cows and commit burglary. However, the situation has changed after the installation of double-lane barbed wire fence and flood lights in most of the areas.
Though a major portion of Dalia is fenced, a stretch of two-and-a-half kilometers is still open. The village, which has 100 per cent Garo population, is getting ready for the October 21 Shella bypoll.The villagers do not want to reveal their choice of the candidate but added that the area is longing for development.
J M Marak, a teacher of LP School in Dalia, said that though there are more than 200 students, there are only two teachers. The school buildings are old and need immediate repair. The construction of a Don Bosco School for classes from VI to VIII is in progress.
The government school suffers from lack of furniture, water and electricity. Like any other border constituency, there are no good roads in the area.
The people mainly depend on agriculture and dairy farming for livelihood, while some are engaged as workers in limestone quarries. Some residents have to pay property tax of Rs 100 per year since they are staying in the property of Nichols Roy, a villager said, adding a person called Steve Davis from Shillong comes and collects the money annually.