Photo: Lingaraj Panda

DAY OF RECKONING: Women queuing up at a polling booth in Makarajhola village in Ganjam district on Tuesday.

BERHAMPUR: Voters took part in the polling with enthusiasm as the first phase for the panchayat polls on Tuesday coincided with Sankranti.

In Ganjam district Sankranti is observed as a day of respite and traditional rituals. The farmers take off from work in the fields.

Shops and business establishments remain closed. Menial labourers as well as skilled labourers treat this day as their monthly off. The candidates of the areas where polling was held like sarpanch candidate of Sikiri, K. C. Nayak, were happy that they would not have to gather villagers to vote on the day of Sankranti as every one would be at home.

The effect of Sankranti could be seen at polling booths. Large numbers of women were seen at the booths at Chaitanyapada and Kanchudu villages from early hours of voting. G.Sushama of Chaitanyapada said it was easy for the women to come out to vote in the morning as the male members of the family were at home. "After voting we can return to our daily chores. On any other day we would have come to vote after finishing our daily work at home and it would have been a problem as panchayat polling process ends at 12 noon," she said.

Villagers seemed to be enjoying the political festivity of polling process near all booths. Farmers like J. Jhuria could be seen moving around the booths near their village enquiring the prospects of their favourite candidates.

Stalled

Polling was peaceful in Ganjam district except for a few stray incidents. Polling was stalled for half an hour at the Badabaragam booth under Purushottampur block for half and hour as some miscreants tore up some ballot papers.

At Kharida, villagers who had given a call to boycott polls took away the ballot papers but the polling process resumed after the officials pacified the villagers.

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