Snow Cleared on Road to Remote Mustang Polling Station Ahead of By-Election

MUSTANG. Snow clearing began on Tuesday on the road connecting Mustang-Dolpa to the Sanga Polling Center in Baragung Muktichhetra-5, Mustang, for the House of Representatives member election scheduled for Falgun 21.

Surendra Gurung, Ward Chairperson of Baragung Muktichhetra-5, stated that snow clearing has commenced to allow vehicle movement on the road, which has been completely blocked by snowfall since Kartik 10.

The village of Sanga, located at an altitude of 4,500 meters above sea level, northwest of the Mustang district headquarters Jomsom, is the last village in Mustang to be discovered. There are 39 voters in this village. The polling center at the Himalayan Basic School in this village is about 40 kilometers away from Jomsom. The residents of Mustang's Sanga village, situated in a geographically remote location, are currently outside the village.

The citizens of Sanga village, near the border of Mustang and Dolpa, left the village before Mangsir to escape the cold and are staying at relatives' homes in villages around Jomsom, Mustang. Some have descended to Pokhara-Kathmandu to avoid the winter chill. Except for a few shepherds looking after livestock, all houses in the village are locked. It seems Sanga village is completely obscure after all its residents left.

There are only 13 households in Sanga village. The residents who moved to warmer locations to escape the winter cold usually return to the village only in Chaitra/Baishakh. However, they are compelled to return to the village before Falgun 21 to cast their votes in the House of Representatives member election scheduled for Falgun 21 this year.

A team from the District Security Committee, which visited the Sanga village Himalayan Polling Center a few days ago, had to return halfway up the road leading to Sanga village. After the District Security Committee conducted on-site monitoring of most polling centers in Mustang, the monitoring of the Himalayan Basic School Polling Center in Sanga village could not be completed due to the blocked road caused by snowfall.