Polls now a protest platform

Kolkata: Three weeks after Raju Sankar Shaw lost his brother in the Vivekananda Road flyover collapse, the Chitpore resident on Thursday went out to cast his vote. "Of course I will cast my vote. I want to release my pent up emotions," he said.

Waiting in front of a polling booth near Maheswari Girls' High school on Rabindra Sarani, Shaw sa id, "Till yesterday I was in doubt whether I should cast my vote or not.The flyover collapse has snatched our family's happiness. We were supposed to make merry at my nephew's marriage the next day . I had even saved Rs 30,000 for booking a ceremonial house. But March 31turned into the worst day of our lives."

The looming spectre of the fallen flyover could not be missed in the Jorasanko constituency . Septuagenarian M P Sharma, a resident of Kali Krishna Tagore Street who usually skips polls, went out to vote with wife Durga devi on Thursday . "The scream of helpless victims still rings in my ears. It is a criminal offence on the part of the supervising agency to not examine the strength of the bridge. I cannot stand the loss of so many lives and hence decided to register my protest by voting," he said.

Durga Devi nodded her confirmation. "The collapse has taken away the happiness from our lives. After the loss of innocent lives, the administration woke up and the first thing they did was ask us to vacate our homes. At this age where will we go?" she asked.

Ashok Pramanik, a resident of Brajodulal Street, was a die-hard Trinamool supporter till the flyover collapsed. "It was a lucky escape for me.But I learnt a lesson too. Today I don't have any feelings left for any political party. In fact, this time I won't even vote," Pramanik said.

First-time voter Shalini Sharma said, "My opinion about the collapse is very clear. It is a man-made disaster. I had this tragedy in mind when I took part in the polls," she said.

Ratna Roy , a resident of Singhibagan, was candid: "If such a disaster happens in your neighbourhood, you can't avoid it. This issue was at the top of my mind when I went to vote."