Kullu: Ahead of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly elections scheduled for November 12, authorities are gearing up to reach three inaccessible polling booths in Kullu district where the polling staff have to travel up to 20 km on foot to conduct polls. According to officials, two polling booths Shakti and Torsion are located in the Gada Parli panchayat under Banjar Vidhan Sabha.
The third Rashol polling station of Manikarna Valley of Kullu Assembly is also located in an inaccessible area. At the Shakti and Torsion booths, 98 voters will exercise their franchise in the elections. Due to the distant location, the areas face the problem of mobile network and electricity as the villagers are relying on solar power.
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More than the official negligence, the lack of facilities is being attributed to the restrictions on construction around the Great Himalayan National Park, which is in the vicinity of Shakti and Torsion polling booths under the Banjar Assembly constituency. Banjar Sub-Divisional Officer Prakash Chand Azad said that the polling parties would leave two days in advance with the polling material to conduct polls at the three booths. Out of the total of 35 polling stations in the Kullu district, the staff have to cover a distance of five km to reach three stations while there are nine polling stations where polling parties have to travel up to seven km on foot.
