Lok Sabha polls 2024: India’s toughest polling station in Meghalaya to go to polls on April 19

The polling station can be reached via the double-decker root bridge.

Cherrapunji (Meghalaya):

Nongrait, India’s toughest non-motorized polling station, is all set to cast its votes in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 19.

There are more than 74 non-motorized polling stations in Meghalaya. The Nongrait polling station in East Khasi Hills, with a capacity of 140 voters, is close to the culturally unique bioengineering marvel and the world-famous double-decker living root bridge, accessible only on foot.

The ANI team came to the village of Nongrait to experience the difficulty of crossing two mountains and climbing down 3,400 steps to reach this impassable and pathless polling station.

Nongrait is a village in the East Khasi Hills region of Meghalaya. It is probably best known for its Living Root Bridge, an impressive double-decker suspension bridge. The polling station can be reached via the double-decker root bridge.

Tomorrow, April 17, polling officials from Cherapunji will arrive here with electronic voting machines (EVMs).

The last drivable mile is Tyrna village, 60 kilometers from Shillong. Once you reach Tierna there is no choice but to walk. From Tierna one has to climb two hills and cross a two-foot-high wire bridge and two tree-root bridges. The last one is a double-decker root bridge. The polling station is 50 meters away from this root bridge.

Elbinson, 44, whose main occupation is farming, said polling officials arrived two days before the voting date. According to the electoral list of the village of Nongrait, there are 140 voters in the polling station, named 27 Nongrait polling stations. People vote very enthusiastically here.

He said the place had been ignored by politicians. Neither MPs nor members of the Legislative Assembly are taking this village seriously. Politicians never deliver on their promises.

Elbinson said the ropeway is a long-standing need in this and other villages, but people are still waiting.

“According to the name of the building, we have a primary school for grade 5 and a community hall. For grade 8 education, students have to climb 3,600 steps to the village of Tyrna, where there is school up to grade 8; for high school education, they need Going to Cherapunji, 12 kilometers from Tyrna village, there is no hospital or primary health center nearby,” he said.

Another villager, Chally Mawa, 45, runs a hotel here as it is a very famous tourist attraction.

Marwa said life in the village was difficult.

“Villagers are forced to carry all basic necessities on their shoulders. Everything costs twice as much here. A liter of water costs forty rupees a bottle when it should be twenty rupees elsewhere. There are no roads. Traffic It’s a big problem. “Our main income comes from tourists and there are 40 families in the village who are mainly engaged in growing black pepper, tejpatta, pan supari, oranges and pineapples. In mandis,” he said.

Meghalaya Chief Electoral Officer BDR Tiwari said they faced a lot of challenges in terms of weather and geography.

In many areas, people must cross rivers on bridges of living tree roots. The Nongrait Double Deccer Bridge is one of them. There are many polling places in the state that we cannot reach by vehicle, so voters must walk.

Speaking at a non-motorized polling station in Khasi Hills, Meghalaya Chief Election Commissioner BDR Tiwari said: “Meghalaya receives the highest rainfall and is a hilly region. So, we face a lot of weather and geographical challenges here. But. We are prepared for the fact that we have about 50 polling stations that are not accessible by vehicle and we are prepared for the rain.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)