Lahaul-Spiti, Mandi dist villages to boycott poll

Dipender Manta

Tribune News Service

Mandi, November 8

Residents of two panchayats in Lahaul-Spiti district and people of the Sandhol area in Mandi district will boycott elections as their demands are still incomplete.

According to sources, people of Salpat-2 village in Udaipur in Lahaul-Spiti have decided to boycott elections because the road leading to their village had been incomplete for many years.

Udaipur Panchayat Pradhan Mani Devi told the Tribune, “People are annoyed and they are adamant on their decision. However, I have tried to convince them to exercise their vote.”

Yoche village at Darcha in Lahaul-Spiti will boycott the poll. They were demanding land at safe place for the construction of houses. The village is prone to avalanches during winter and last year, roofs of a few houses were damaged because of avalanche in the region, which worry them.

In Mandi district, people of Sandhol have decided to boycott the elections as their demands are not fulfilled. Additional Deputy Commissioner, Mandi, Ashwani Kumar visited the area and tried to convince the villagers but they were adamant on their decision.

Sanjay of Sandhol said there was road to hospital was in a poor condition. A notification was issued to open Tehsil Welfare Office at Sandhol which later shifted to Dharampur. Similarly, the Civil Hospital was upgraded to 100-bed capacity, but it had still 10 beds.