In a tough uphill five-km trek, election officials on Wednesday carried electronic voting machines and other election materials on their shoulders and head to Jarugumalai to ensure that 715 voters get an opportunity to exercise their franchise on Thursday in the Parliament elections.
Jarugumalai, located near Ammapettai here, is perhaps the only polling station in the Salem Parliamentary constituency that lacks access by vehicle.
Polling officials had to carry voting materials on their shoulders to the booth at a government school atop the hill.
Until recently, the villagers had to trek a little more than seven km to the foothills as the areal lacked road access and vehicles could not be driven up.
Recently, a ground breaking ceremony for a7.1 km road connecting the villages here to Pannangadu at the foothills and to rest of the city was held at this place.
The road is being laid at ₹9 crore, using funds from NABARD.
Though the road works have begun, it is still a difficult terrain for vehicles. On Wednesday, vehicles carrying polling materials managed to negotiate up to two km, but the officials had to carry the materials beyond that point.
There are nine villages in Jarugumalai, whose residents have been demanding better road facilities for long. People had to trek the entire distance to gain access to even basic healthcare.