Patagudam, Gadchiroli vote for first time since 1947
All these years, the Patagudam polling centre had been shifted to the nearby Somanpalli keeping in mind threats from Naxalites.
Nagpur: Gadchiroli police heaved a sigh of relief as polling went off peacefully in Patagudam, a tiny village in a far-off area of Gadchiroli district on the Chattisgarh border. Since independence, this was the first time that polling took place in Patagudam. All these years, the Patagudam polling centre had been shifted to the nearby Somanpalli keeping in mind threats from Naxalites.
Patagudam is a transit point for outlawed Maoists to frequently cross the border and villagers are apprehensive of terror unleashed by Naxalites whenever there is voting. On Tuesday however, polling was recorded at 71.39 per cent for Panchayat Samiti and Zilla Parishadelections in the second phase. Gadchiroli police had set up a police help post (police madat Kendra) on February 29 last year to instill confidence among the locals. That really worked, said Gadchiroli police. Gadchiroli Police public relations officer, Tejaswi Patil, told The Asian Age that Patagudam was a hyper-sensitive polling centre but polling took place without incident. Polling went on smoothly even in the six sub-divisions of Naxal-infested Pendhari, Etapalli, Bhamragarh, Jimalgatta and Sironcha. Polling parties returned safely and no untoward incident was reported from anywhere in the entire Gadchiroli district, she said.