Diara residents vote for growth

MANER/BIHITA/PHULWARISHARIF: People walked miles amid scorching heat to cast their votes in Ganga diara (riverine) areas in Pataliputra constituency, where RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s eldest daughter Misa Bharti is pitted against BJP’s Ram Kripal Yadav.


Despite all odds, residents of Purani Panapur village in Maner turned up at polling booths in large numbers. Keshav Prasad (85), a farmer from the village, said there is no electricity at their place. “The electric poles were installed a few days before the

election

,” he said. The residents also complained of lack of schools, roadways and

water scarcity

.

Lack of development was a common complaint of a majority of voters in diara areas of

Danapur

and Maner. “Lack of medical facilities, schools and job opportunities are taking a toll on us,” said Rampati Devi of Adhin Tola.

Nineteen-year-old Phul Kumari, who left studies after passing Intermediate in 2017, blamed lack of college in the area for her plight.

A minor scuffle broke out at a polling booth at Adhin Tola after EVMs malfunctioned around 7.37am. The polling, however, resumed at 9.45am.

Meanwhile, a clash broke out between the BJP and RJD supporters outside a polling booth at Vyapur under Maner assembly segment. Son of a former MLA received minor injuries in the scuffle.

In another incident, police fired in the air to disperse a group of people attempting to disrupt the polling process at a booth in

Paliganj

.

At Dulhin Bazar, the police personnel were greeted with stones when they tried to stop a group of people from causing damages to the EVMs.