After walking hilly terrain for about 45 minutes and climbing 200 steps by Thurbo Tea garden, 18-year-old Swadiksha, a first-time voter, cast her vote at Thurbo Prathamik Pathshala in Mirik to elect a candidate of her choice for the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA), the voting for which took place on Sunday. Swadiksha is voting for a regular supply of potable water and electricity and a road to her village, among other things, she told The Indian Express. “Can you imagine, at a time when people are thinking of buying land on Mars and the moon, we don't have proper electricity and water supply to our village,” said Swadiksha, a Class 12 student who lives in the Thurbo Tea Estate area, located at an altitude varying from 3,220 to 8,010 feet, in Mirik town of Darjeeling district. “Moreover, no government thinks about the youths. There is no job opportunity for them. Tourism is there, but our village is too far from tourist spots. People come here for sightseeing and return after a few hours,” she rued. This polling station has recorded a 54 per cent turnout till 2:48 pm. “There are 819 voters registered at this polling booth and 443 have, so far, cast their vote,” said Arvind Rai, the Presiding Officer. When the GTA polling was underway, The Indian Express travelled to several villages and gram panchayats and interacted with a wide range of voters. Another first-time voter 18-year-old Sukaj Tamang, a student at a local school in Simana village, too complained that “no political party is serious about the problems faced by the youths”. “I haven't come across any GTA candidate with a vision for the welfare and growth of the youths, like creating job opportunities for them and providing better education infrastructure. After completing education here, youths move out in search of a better opportunity or loiter here and there with no job in hand,” said Tamang. Soon, a few local youths from Simana village, located at the edge of the Indian territory bordering Nepal, joined Tamang. “We are tired of being fooled by politicians in the name of separate statehood. Tourism is restricted to and around Darjeeling city. A few tourists pass through our village on their way to Mirik, that too for a few minutes. There is no development at all in our village. There is no proper water supply, no dispensary and just a few teachers at the primary school. Even mobile networks do not work properly. We want a change and development in the true sense,” said Minju Serpa and Kundan Khaws, both first-time voters. Several polling stations in Darjeeling and Kurseong were located in isolated areas with limited facilities, some of them even lacking mobile connectivity. A few were located in the forest or semi-forest areas. Balasan Forest village, located in the middle of a forest area at an altitude of nearly 6,000 feet and about 5 kilometres from Ghum station, has a total of 507 registered voters, but only 178 had cast their vote till 11 am. “Till 11 am, 178 people cast their vote. It is relatively low. If the weather remains clear we hope the turnout will improve,” said Presiding Officer Binay Deep Tamang at the Balasan Bhanjyang Forest Village Primary School polling station. Most of the people in this village are labours and survive on agriculture. The villagers accused the administration and the government of indifferent treatment. Angry over the non-fulfilment of promises made by the government and local politicians, Rajni Bhutiya chose not to vote. “I won't vote. What's the benefit of voting when no one even comes to see in which condition we live here,” said Bhutiya. Usha Bhutiya, 52, too, slammed the local administration and the government for their lackadaisical attitude toward villages in the district. “Darjeeling and Kurseong are tourist spots, so we developed homestay but people hardly visit. Why would they visit here? There is no sightseeing area here. We have a 'Hawaghar' of the British Era, but it is destroyed due to the apathy of the government. If the government restores it and declares it a heritage site, and creates some sight-seeing spots in our village to attract tourists, our lives will be a little easy. Even during the peak season when no hotel is available in Darjeeling, we get only 40-45 tourists,” said 60-year-old Subhash Lopchang. Though voting remained peaceful, many chose not to vote.
