Survey fleshes out citizens manifesto of Lokhandwala societies

Residents of Lokhandwala Township (LoTo) in Kandivali (E) have prepared a citizen manifesto based on an online survey that they will be presenting to candidates

Mumbai: Elections are an opportunity for every voter, whether rich or poor, to engage with the political process. The affluent residents of Lokhandwala Township (LoTo) in Kandivali (E) have prepared a citizen manifesto based on an online survey that they will be presenting to candidates who come asking for their votes.

Chandigarh residents can fill out Form 6 to enrol in the electoral roll through the Voter Helpline App or voter portal “https://voters.eci.gov.in/”, or simply hand over the form at their respective polling booths. (Getty image)

The survey was conducted last week of April and it revealed several interesting findings. Residents of some 50 to 60 gated communities comprising more than 200 high rises enthusiastically filled out an online form listing their problems and giving their feedback on performance of elected representatives.

A non-political platform called We All Connect (wAc) was created that conducted the survey with the residents. The online form was circulated through the WhatsApp groups of each society.

Santy Shetty, founder of wAc, said, “The WaC caters to nearly 7,000 families. We created a Google form which was circulated through WhatsApp and social media platforms and asked residents to fill it up. This survey conducted by wAc is to highlight the issues that continue to be pertinent in our neighbourhood. Our initiative of making this ‘Citizens Manifesto’ is to get the issues highlighted to the candidates so that they support us with solutions”.

Some of the core issues of Lokhandwala Township that were discussed are completion of DP Road connecting Lokhandwala and Thakur Village, widening of Entry and Exit road from WEH to Lokhandwala, action against share autorickshaws as drivers breach traffic rules, more BEST bus services in the township and the problem of illegal parking. Apart from this the perennial issue of widening Akurli Road has been in the works for months but no progress has been made.

BJP candidate Piyush Goyal visited Lokhandwala Township during his campaign rally a few days ago while the Congress candidate is expected to visit soon. The residents say they have simplified their manifesto and zeroed in on 10 main issues that concern their township.