Election officials claim awareness campaigns, transport facilities will influence the turnout among salt pan workers in the Little Rann of Kutch.
Kutch (Gujarat): For the first time, the state election authorities are expecting a dramatic rise in voter turnout – up to 60-70 per cent from the usual mark of 30 — among the 70,000-odd salt pan workers or agariyas in Gujarat.
Growing awareness about the election process and the transport facilities organised by the Election Commission for agariyas living in far off locations are some of the factors that could increase the turnout this time, poll officials told ThePrint.
As 89 assembly constituencies voted in the first phase of elections Saturday, a number of agariyas got the black indelible ink on their fingers for the first time.
In the run-up to this election, the district collectors’ offices held voter awareness campaigns for these agariyas in several parts of the Little Rann of Kutch, educating them how to cast their votes and hearing out their demands and concerns.
A part of the Gujarat’s salt industry, India’s largest, is scattered across four districts of Kutch, Patan, Rajkot and Surendranagar in the Little Rann of Kutch.
The agariyas toil away in far-flung salt pans in harsh cold and hot weather conditions. They live in shacks next to their salt pans for eight months of the year, from the beginning of the salt manufacturing season to October.
While men try to arrange for their own transport to the voting stations, the women of the house are usually left behind.
However, this time the situation has improved considerably.
“In the Santalpur tehsil, we have arranged for five vehicles to make four trips through the day to bring them from the desert to vote in their villages,” Shivraj Gilva, returning officer of the Radhanpur assembly constituency in the Patan district, told ThePrint.
“Among the 1,250 agariya voters in this constituency, we hope that turnout will touch 60-70 per cent this time because of our efforts,” the officer added.
Chandu Bhai, a salt pan worker from Maliya in the Morbi district, said for the first time, he had seen government officials coming here and telling people about elections. “They even brought the machine with them to show us exactly how to vote. People are excited to vote this time after the awareness campaign,” he said.
Chandu Bhai said earlier many agariyas did not vote because their villages are 50-60 km away and they would lose at least two or three days of work had they left for polling stations.
Hausi Chotabhai (25), excited to exercise his franchise for the first time, said he will vote keeping in mind the most crucial issues that the agariyas face — a fair price for their produce and land title.
“We barely get Rs 160-180 a tonne when we should be getting at least Rs 300. The rates have only fallen. The government has done nothing about it until now. I will give the Congress a chance,” he said.
Most agariyas make salt on a small 10-acre plot in the Little Rann of Kutch that does not have revenue survey numbers and live under constant fear of being evicted. They want the government to recognise their ownership of the plot they cultivate.
“Nobody paid attention to problems faced by the agariyas until now since they are scattered. In many cases, they were not even aware that there is an election in the state,” Pankti Jog, who is associated with NGO Agariya Heeth Rakshak Manch.
“Political parties too have not been bothered about campaigning among them. But if they vote in large numbers, they can definitely make an impact in at least four assembly constituencies — Surendranagar, Patan, Morbi and Rapar,” she added.
Gujarat is the biggest salt manufacturer in the country, producing about 2 crore tonnes of salt annually and accounts for approximately 70 per cent of India’s total salt produce. Of Gujarat’s total salt production, the Little Rann contribute 37 per cent, according to industry estimates.