In Hinjewadi’s Blue Ridge Co-op Society, techies and farmers line up to elect an MP who will solve their water woes

The Blue Ridge Co-operative Society in Pune’s Hinjewadi has been facing a major crisis, with bloodworms being detected in its drinking water some weeks ago

Pune Hinjewadi voting Lok Sabha elections 2024

The queues began forming at Blue Ridge Public School in Hinjewadi at 6.45 am on Tuesday. (Express Photo)

The queues began forming at Blue Ridge Public School in Hinjewadi at 6.45 am on Tuesday. One of the eight co-operative societies to have polling booths this time around, in a new initiative by the Election Commission, the turnout looked promising right from the beginning. Interestingly, the crowd was a mix of IT professionals who work and live in the area and farmers from the surrounding villages, all of whom have the same demand.

Komal Preetkaur, Harkirtan Kaur and Darshanjeet Singh, all IT professionals belonging to one family, said that though they came early in the morning they had to wait in queue for at least 45 minutes, given the crowd. “But that’s okay. We are here because we want clean water. That’s all we are asking from the person we elect as our MP,” said Komal. The Blue Ridge Co-operative Society has been facing a major drinking water crisis, with bloodworms being detected in its potable water some weeks ago.

Jasneet, a life coach living nearby, said the society’s initiative to update voter IDs helped her exercise her vote for the first time as she had been living outside Pune till now, and the convenient location of the booth in the society made it even easier. “We don’t have corporation water in our homes and live on tankers. This is the main issue that we want resolved,” she said.

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Vasant Sakhre, 58, a farmer who lives in the fields around Blue Ridge society, said he made sure to come with his family to vote because of the peculiar problems that ail the area. “When the IT park was made, the infrastructure required to sustain all the offices and residential complexes was not made alongside. Waste management, transportation and, above all, water supply are completely neglected,” he pointed out.

“The IT park gives the government revenue worth thousands of crores but it is just treated as the goose that lays golden eggs. We have written so many letters to the Chief Minister about our water problem but to no avail. Why is it that we are still fighting for basics like water? We want a government that delivers, not one that only makes us live in fear,” Sakhre added.

With five rooms devoted to polling, the first few hours of the day saw long queues in front of all of them. Many also availed of the wheelchair facility, but in the absence of a ramp entry to the school, they had to get up and walk a few steps.

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