Poll officials, temporary police stranded in Upper Dolpa

By Our Correspondent, Dolpa, Nov. 24: Election officials and temporary policemen deployed in three local levels of Upper Dolpa have been stranded.

A Nepali Army helicopter airlifted only election officers and ballot boxes to the district headquarters in Dunai on Wednesday. However, no transportation service has been managed for other election staff and temporary policemen.

District’s chief election officer and Judge Baburam Subedi informed that the district’s election security committee had decided to transport the officials and temporary policemen to the Upper Dolpa region and bring them back.

“Election officials and temporary police officers deployed in Chharka Tangsong, Dolpo Buddha and Shey Phoksundo Rural Municipalities are alos suffering from fever, common cold and altitude sickness. We are sad that we are unable to transport them back at the earliest. Necessary process to airlift them is underway,” said Subedi.

It has been four days since the election concluded.  On Wednesday, the ballot papers from the polling centres in Ward Nos. 2, 3 and 4 of Shey Phoksundo were transported to Dunai. However, the helicopter returned to Surkhet rather than lifting the remaining officials to the district headquarters. “We are coordinating with the Ministry of Home Affairs to transport the stranded officials at the earliest. The helicopter returned to Surkhet because it had to transport more ballot boxes from other areas,” said Bednidhi Adhikari, Chief District Officer (CDO) of Dolpa.

Adhikari added, “As per the latest information we have received, the helicopter will leave for Upper Dolpa to bring the stranded officials from Thursday morning after transporting ballot boxes in Humla.” It takes more than a week to walk to Dunai from Upper Dolpa. Also, snowfall and extreme cold make the trek more difficult because no hotels and lodges are on the way.

Meanwhile, preparations were made to begin vote counting from Wednesday evening in Dolpa as all ballot boxes had arrived in Duni. Meanwhile, election staff deployed in three polling centres of Ward No. 6 of Namkha Rural Municipality in Humla district were airlifted to Simkot four days after the elections concluded.

“The helicopter had flown to and from Namkha three times to transport 52 election staff and temporary policemen,” said CDO of Humla Sita Pariyar.

According to Pariyar, the staff were facing shortage of food and were suffering from cold-related sickness. 

A woman employee had suffered from altitude sickness. On Monday, a helicopter had transported 13 election staff and ballot boxes of the  three polling centres.

The election staff deployed in Sarkegard of Humla are returning on foot since no transportation was managed to bring them back for the past three days.