TASGAON (SANGI): It is that time of the year when tractor-trolleys, crammed with people awkwardly seated near stacks of clothes, utensils, rudimentary tents and knick-knacks, trundle on major roads in western Maharashtra districts.
They are sugarcane cutters, making their way to the destinations of their annual sojourn, with many even traversing up to 1,200 km for greener pastures in neighbouring states. This year, the crushing season clashes with the poll date, which means more than 10 lakh workers from districts such as Nandurbar, Dhule, Beed, Parbhani and Jalgaon, are likely to miss exercising their franchise.
A ministerial committee had decided much before the poll announcement that crushing will begin on Nov 15 in the state. Govt had urged EC to postpone the cane cutting schedule by 10 days. Maharashtra Association of Sugarcane Cutters and Transport Workers had moved HC demanding that EC either make arrangements for transporting workers to their homes on polling day or let them vote in booths near their workplace. HC has scheduled the hearing after four weeks.
Jeevan Haribhau Rathod, president of the association that filed a petition, feared bogus voting may peak in a situation where a large number of voters are away from the villages. For workers, earning a livelihood is a bigger priority. A cutter said, “Their entire economy depends on this harvest season.”