Wednesday, 23 February 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
The founder of Social Development for Communities (SDC) foundation Anoop Nautiyal has again said that the planners should adopt the Uttarkashi model of political awareness for the mountainous areas of the state. Uttarkashi district recorded a voter turnout of 70.53 per cent and was in third position after Haridwar (73.64) and Udham Singh Nagar (72.38) in the state in the assembly elections and was in number one position among the mountainous districts of the state. There are three assembly constituencies, Purola, Yamunotri and Gangotri in Uttarkashi district. The data of the election commission (EC) shows that 71.30 per cent voters turned out to vote in Gangotri assembly while the polling per cent was 71.26 and 68.88 in Yamunotri and Purola assemblies.
Nautiyal said that the voters of Uttarkashi district had reported a polling per cent of 69.38 in last assembly elections and in this election they have further improved it. He said that the economy in Uttarkashi is strong due to which less migration has occurred in this district. Nautiyal added that the people of Uttarkashi are politically aware due to which they come out in large numbers in the elections. He said that Uttarkashi should be a model for mountainous districts like Pauri, Almora, Chamoli, Rudraprayag and Tehri. He said that the governments, policy makers and public representatives should deeply understand the reasons for the high percentage of voting in Uttarkashi district as compared to other mountainous districts.
Before the assembly elections the SDC foundation had released a report ‘Migration and Uttarakhand Election 2017’ which is based on the voting patterns and percentages of the assembly elections of 2017 in the state. The report had claimed that the number of voters in the assembly seats in the hilly areas is less than in the plain areas, as well as fewer people go to vote in these areas than in the plain areas. In this way, about 40 to 50 per cent of the voters of mountainous areas are not able to participate in the democratic process. According to the report, large-scale migration in the state is one of the likely reasons behind the low turnout.
