POMLUM/SHILLONG: Some villagers of Pomlum and nearby Nongjri under Pynursla, East Khasi Hills, do not know the names of contesting candidates.
Here is the response from villagers when queries were made on Wednesday.
Reporter: Who are your candidates?
Villager: We do not know.
Reporter: Are you aware of the election?
Villager: But nobody came here to canvass.
The visiting reporter had to tell them the names of the candidates for Shillong Lok Sabha seat.
The villagers are also not aware of the sitting MP Vincent Pala as he had not visited the area. “We expected some development but in vain,” a villager said.
The conversation was inside a teashop at Pomlum, around 32 km from the city, which has 60 households.
During the chat, it was revealed that the Lok Sabha election is a low-key affair in villages after the hectic Assembly polls in 2018 and the subsequent Council polls in February this year.
The area is rich in agri-horticulture products but the farmers have to walk several hours to reap the fruits of their labour. There is only a single government employee in the village. He is an MeECL lineman.
Pomlum village faces erratic power supply and lacks adequate health facilities.
An elderly person pointed out that while it is a fact that candidates cannot campaign in each and every village, the Election Department can at least create awareness regarding the names of contesting candidates by putting up notices or through public announcements.
“What is the use of conducting awareness programmes telling the people to vote if they do not know the names of the candidates,” he said.
Two women, who were running the teashop at Pomlum, preferred themselves to be called Kong Duh and Kong Deng, both Kharkongor.
When asked, they said they will all go to vote on April 11 as they are aware of the symbols of the contesting candidates.
A farmer from nearby Nongjri village who had come to drink tea and identified himself as Bah Duh (Lymba) admitted that he did not know the contesting candidates.
He, however, asserted that the voters will exercise their franchise as they do not like to abstain from voting.
