By Rajan Rawat
Humla, Mar. 4: Locals in rural village of Maspur, in Tanjakot Rural Municipality-3, Humla have made repeated requests to the election office to locate polling stations near the village so that they can cast their votes without hassle in the upcoming local level election slated for May 13.

However, their demands remain unheeded, meaning that like in previous elections, the locals have to walk 10 hours to reach the polling station.
The locals have requested the authority to set up a polling station in the village or in an accessible place so that all the eligible people of the village could cast their votes in the polls.

Dan Bahadur Budha, a local, has asked the election office to locate the polling station in the village so that voters like him would not be deprived of their voting rights like in the past.
Recalling memories of previous elections, Budha said the villagers had to walk for 10 hours to reach Thapagaun Polling station.

He complained that the majority of the eligible voters of the village were deprived of their franchise rights because the process was both time consuming and expensive for the villagers.
Only 17 people of Maspur had cast their votes in the three-tier election held in 2017, said Budha adding, “The village is still not connected to the road network.”

Many voters of the village could not walk for 10 hours to reach the polling station; some even complained that the polling time was over by the time they reached the booth, he added.
He said, “There is still some hope. But I am not sure if our demands will be addressed,” he added.

Chairman of the municipality Bagdal Malla said the demand for locating polling stations in Maspur had been raised since he was elected but continued to remain unaddressed.
“Voters have to walk from the early morning to the polling station. Out of 67 voters of 20 households of the village, only one member from each household reaches the polling station to cast their votes,” he said.