Janaboli
Kathmandu : Establishment of a new polling station in their locality has elated the residents of Simkosh Bagar Village in Dhawalagiri rural municiality-4 in Myagdi district beyond the bounds.
They no longer need to spare three days to participate in the voting in the upcoming November 20’s House of Representatives (HoR) and Province Assembly election.
The local administration has established polling station at Kailash Elementary School at Simkosh Bagar village for 157 registered voters here to cast their vote conveniently this election.
One among the six local levels in Myagdi district, Simkosh Bagar is a geographically remote and distant village with around 50 households.
Among the 157 voters in the village, only 50 had reached the farthest polling station in the last May 13’s local level election to vote. Many locals could not hike to the remote polling station as they had to guard their houses.
Senior citizens, people with disabilities, expecting mothers, new mothers and herders were also deprived of voting given their physical inactivity, professional commitments and geographical remoteness of the polling station among others.
Simkosh Bagar is the last human settlement along the way leading to the base camp of Mt Dhaulagiri in the district.
Simkosh Bagar dwellers are exuberant after this new development for they can exercise their franchise in their own locality without having to walk for hours and hours.
Chitra Bahadur Tilija, a local resident gushed that the establishment of a new polling station had now saved them time and made it easier for them to vote conveniently.
Tilija described, “We would hike to Naur village on the eve of the voting and after voting, we would stay over in the same village and reach our home on the third day only.” According to him, villagers were very happy to have a new polling station in their locality.
The team lead by Election Officer Giri Prasad Chantyal is gearing up to successfully hold election in this village.
Following the last local level, eight new polling stations were set up for disadvantaged and geographically remote settlements, including one in Simkosh Bagar.
