Delhi voters demand action on sanitation, employment, inflation

New Delhi, PTI: Delhiites on Wednesday exercised their right to vote while expressing concerns about key issues such as civic amenities, employment opportunities, and inflation matters which directly impact their daily lives. Basin (67), a resident of Kalkaji, said he was voting in the hope of improving the entire constituency. "I am here to vote against corruption and poor sanitation. The issues don't need to be highlighted just look at the roads. When you step out of the house, you can clearly see all the sanitation problems. The entire constituency needs cleanliness. The roads are there, but they're broken and congested. Similarly, the drainage and sewage systems are open," he stated.

Polling, which began at 7 am, is underway at 13,766 stations across Delhi's 70 constituencies to decide the fate of 699 candidates. It will continue until 6 pm. Damodar Kumar (50), a motorcycle garage owner and resident of Okhla, said the maintenance of public washrooms is poor and open drains also trouble the residents. "The management is poor. There are public restrooms on the roads, but their maintenance is terrible. They're open, so they stink all the time. And these open drains create the same problem during rain—they're not even covered, and many are newly built. If someone isn't careful, they could fall right into them," Kumar stated.

In northeast Delhi, where communal riots occurred five years ago, residents are focusing on development as the central theme of their votes. A voter said that they have "bad memories of the riots" but people are "voting in large numbers for the future."

Pledges of financial aid 'mere poll promises'; Delhi women say voted for education, safety

Labelling the announcements for financial assistance by political parties as "mere poll promises", a section of women in Delhi said they voted for better education and safety. A woman voter in Dilshad Garden said announcing a financial aid was just a poll promise. "We don't need this … We want those that would improve a common person's life. I have been working as a government schoolteacher on a contract for eight years.

I want the government to make my job permanent," she said. The BJP, AAP and the Congress have each promised financial assistance for women a demographic that constitutes 46.2 per cent of Delhi's electorate. The national capital has 72.36 lakh women voters.