Scary house: Voters entering the booth (above) and a view of booth from outside (left) pics/ramesh h s

A booth bang in the middle of a crematorium had voters edging away home

A polling booth set up in a crematorium kept voters away. Only about 20 per cent voters summoned the courage to vote at Booth No 202 in Chamarajpet in Bangalore (Central).

For a majority of the voters mostly Brahmins visiting a burial ground when there's no death is inauspicious.

"How can we go to the crematorium," asked Seetha Rao. "We are religious people and we cannot do it because of our beliefs."

But BBMP health officer, whose office is in the crematorium, couldn't see what the fuss was about.

"The BBMP staff work daily in the office," he said. "What is the harm in coming here for voting once in while, I don't understand."

He said the place was chosen because of the lack of alternatives.

"Usually, booths are set up in schools or community halls. There was no such place in the area and there was no other go."

As a result, turnout was very low 20 per cent at 4 pm, an hour before closure. Giriappa and his wife were one of the few who voted here. "We did not want to miss voting," said Giriappa. "But now, we have to take a bath once we go back home," he added.

Even the efforts of party workers to get people to vote were in vain.

"People are not coming out," said Raghavendra, presiding officer of the booth. "The atmosphere is scary and the location wrong."

Scary house: Voters entering the booth (above) and a view of booth from outside (left) pics/ramesh h s