Maharashtra elections 2024: Kurla voters suffer crowds, delays despite better arrangements than Lok Sabha polls

The polling booths in Kurla. Pics/Rajendra B Aklekar

While a few polling stations in Kurla experienced crowding and residents of redeveloping buildings complained about not receiving election slips, the voting process was otherwise smooth. Activists from the Kurla Dairy area also gathered to cast their votes in support of greenery.

"This time, the polling booths were spread out, with some even set up on the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar playground. However, the classrooms and narrow corridors at the SKP Walawalkar School were still jam-packed, with long queues moving very slowly. The wait time was lengthy," said resident Farida Alam.

Abhishek Agarwal; Disha Agarwal; Vivek Gharat and Jitendra Gupta

Another resident, Janak Gala, added, "The SKP School setup was the same as every year, with no big changes despite the booths being spread out. There is a need for further distribution of polling booths. There was crowding, no doubt, but it was less compared to previous years, and the conditions were much better."

Residents of Kurla, who have launched a citizen movement called Lok Chalwal, urged people to vote to preserve greenery and protect nature. "It is important to save the green lung of Kurla," said group coordinator Kiran Pailwan. The group even distributed T-shirts to the first 50 first-time voters aged 18-22, encouraging them to post selfies within the group.

The Nehru Nagar police in Kurla summoned a member of Lok Chalwal for questioning. Nilesh Kamble, a member of Lok Chalwal, said, "We were taking group photos near Kadam Nath Marg in Nehru Nagar, Kurla. Someone informed the police that we were campaigning for a political party. The police recorded our written statement, and the entire process took three hours."

No polling booth details for redeveloping buildings?

The social media made the EC number 1950 viral to get polling details by sending SMS on this number by simply typing Voter ID number on voter card. Surprisingly, the SMS that is received immediately fails to give the polling booth number and address. Our building at Kurla west along LBS Marg has been pulled down for redevelopment. So no polling booth details were received by voters. This led to problems, said Jitendra Gupta (pic)

Where is Hindi?

"I am sure everyone has voted today. However, have you noticed one thing? After voting, the VVPAT machine displays the candidate's name on the paper in Marathi, English, and surprisingly in Urdu. Has the Election Commission forgotten that our national language is Hindi? Therefore, a written complaint needs to be filed with the Election Commission officials at the booth, said Nehru Nagar Kurla resident Vivek Gharat. (pic)

Election slips came in late

First time voter Disha Lalit Agrawal (pic) said she felt proud to give her first vote, but said election slips need to come in time. "I thank the Maharashtra election commission for giving me a chance to select the right candidate but a humble request to the election commission department to provide the election slip on time because I faced some problem with getting election slip," she said.

Online voting should be tried

Another first time voter Abhishek Agarwal (pic) said he was very excited to vote, but getting in the queue and reaching the spot can be discouraging. "Technology is so advanced that we should also explore the method of safe and secure online voting. The Gen Next numbers and participation in the election process will increase."

2,97,000
Approx. No. of voters in Kurla