Suvit Srivastava and Rahul Srivastava, both employees of with IT firms in Hinjewadi, said their companies had relaxed the reporting time on Monday for voting. (Express photo: Rajesh Stephan)
Employees of companies located at Hinjewadi IT Park, who are enrolled in voters’ lists in Maval and Shirur, found it difficult to cast their votes on Monday as they only got a couple of hours off work to do so. Pune district went to polls on two separate days in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The voting in Pune and Baramati was held on April 23, in the third phase, while Maval and Shirur went to polls on April 29, in the fourth phase.
In accordance with the Election Commission guidelines, companies in Hinjewadi, which is part of the Baramati Lok Sabha constituency, had declared a holiday on April 23. Pawanjit Mane, president of the Forum for IT Employees (FITE), the registered labour union of the sector, said most employees who work in Hinjewadi stay in Maval or Shirur. “The companies gave a maximum of three hours off for voting, but the employees said it was not enough. There were long queues at the voting centres and it took more than three hours for people who came to vote in the afternoon,” he said.
Pune was the only district in the state where voters faced this problem, said Mane. “Mumbai went to polls in one phase and its residents didn’t face this problem,” he said. Deputy Labour Commissioner Nikhil Walke said he had received only one complaint about IT firms not giving leave for voting on Monday, but it was too vague. “We had sent the shop inspectors to the areas but most of the institutions were closed,” he said.
“We did not get any complaints about people who could not vote,” added Walke.
Suvit Srivastava and Rahul Srivastava, both employees of with IT firms in Hinjewadi, said their companies had relaxed the reporting time on Monday for voting. “We were given an off during the earlier phase of polling in Pune. For the fourth phase, the company allowed us to report late to work,” said Suvit, who cast his vote at G K Gurukul School in Pimple Saudagar on Monday.
Vijay Mukhekar, who works at the IT park and lives in Sanghvi, said, “We worked over the weekend so that the voting day could be turned into an off. I did not require much time to cast my vote as the arrangements at the booth were well-managed”.
3 min read
Suvit Srivastava and Rahul Srivastava, both employees of with IT firms in Hinjewadi, said their companies had relaxed the reporting time on Monday for voting. (Express photo: Rajesh Stephan)
