The sight of Mandai resident, Sheetal Praveen Badhe making rounds in the area in her car brings great relief and joy to the hundreds of senior citizens living there.

For, Badhe provides a free-of-charge pick up and drop service to the elderly residents in Mandai and nearby areas, taking them from their homes to the polling booths and back. Many of them are considerably aged, and would have been unable to make their way to the polling stations had it not been for her.

Badhe, a housewife with two children, lives with her in-laws in one of the wadas scattered throughout the area, with a considerable population of senior citizens. She provided the same service during the Lok Sabha elections as well. “There are several senior citizens at my area, and I can’t accept that they are sitting at home on such an important day, as voting is their right too,” she said.