Dalelpur ends boycott, crosses Yamuna on boat to reach poll booth

Of the 28 voters from Noida's Dalelpur, who had announced boycotting the Lok Sabha polls, 22 turned up at polling booths on Thursday, hoping the winning candidate would visit their village soon and bring 'vikas' (development).

Dalelpur, under Dadri tehsil, is the only village in the Gautam Buddh Nagar constituency which falls across the Yamuna and towards the Haryana side, but is a part of Uttar Pradesh.

If they have to go to vote, they should either risk their lives by crossing the polluted and stench-emanating Yamuna on a boat or come all the way through Faridabad and Delhi via Kalindi Kunj, covering about 70 km to reach their polling station in Gulawali village.

"Initially we were reluctant, but then this is the only means we have left to draw the attention of the political leaders," Ghanshyam Sharma, 72, told PTI.

He added, "Our only hope is that whoever wins the election, will come to our village and improve the situation for us. I don't even have a pension card, or a ration card. I got my voter card today itself at the polling booth."