Mustang. MUSTANG: The Mustang-Dolpa road leading to Shanta polling centre at Waragung Mukti Chhetra-5 in Mustang district has come into operation after the removal of snow for the past six days. The road has been brought into operation with the help of dozers of Baragung Mukti Chhetra Rural Municipality and Road Division Office, Baglung, in coordination with the District Administration Office.

Chairperson of Baragung Mukti Kshetra Rinjin Namgel Gurung said that the road has been brought into operation by clearing the snow from the road to travel to the polling centre due to difficulties in mobilizing the employees and security personnel deputed at the polling station in preparation for the election to the House of Representatives scheduled for March 4.

The Mustang-Dolpa road leading to the polling centre of the Himali Basic School at Sangta village on the border of Mustang and Dolpa districts was completely disrupted due to snowfall on October 23.

According to Gurung, chairperson of Baragung Mukti Chhetra Rural Municipality, the road has come into operation after the thick snow of around seven kilometers leading to the Himali Basic Polling Station in Mustang was cleared with the help of dozers. Chair Gurung said that the road was opened with the investment of the rural municipality for the election scheduled for March 4.

The road leading to the Sangta polling centre was obstructed due to snowfall of up to 13 feet at several places. Ward chair Surendra Gurung said the road leading to Sangta village and Dolpa has come into operation after the removal of snow. Voters of Chharkatangsung Rural Municipality in Upper Dolpa have left for their respective villages after clearing the snow. Removal of snow from the road has made it easier for the people of Upper Dolpa to transport food, ward chair Gurung said.

Likewise, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) employees from Jomsom have repaired the telephone tower which had been obstructed for the past three months after the road leading to Sangta polling centre in Mustang-Dolpa road was cleared, ward chair Gurung said. Earlier, the ward office of Mustang had written to the concerned body to shift the polling centre of Himali Basic School in Mustang to the board of the same ward. However, there was no agreement on shifting the polling center to the district level.

There are 39 voters from 13 households in the district. There were 34 voters in the 2017 local election. Sangta is the border village of Mustang and Dolpa. Every year, the locals leave their villages to escape the winter cold and settle in villages around Jomsom of Mustang. They return to their original place in March÷April only after the onset of summer. This is the shortest route road for the people of Upper Dolpa to transport goods from Pokhara-Kathmandu and Jomsom.