Poll boycott threat by tribals worries admn

Dipender Manta

Tribune News Service

Mandi, March 22

Alarmed over the boycott threat of the Lok Sabha elections by the tribals, the Lahaul Spiti district administration has initiated a dialogue with the affected people.

The tribals, who had been cut off from the rest of the state due to lack of road connectivity and telecommunication service since December, had threatened to boycott the Lok Sabha elections.

Deputy Commissioner Lahaul Spiti Ashwani Kumar Chaudhari assured them today that their demands will be considered on priority and the district administration is working in this direction.

The threat has worried the district administration Lahaul Spiti, which is planning to ensure maximum voting percentage in the election scheduled on May 19. There are total 23,407 voters in the district.

The tribals are demanding speedy restoration of internal road links of Lahaul Spiti and clearing the 13,050-ft high Rohtang Pass of snow, the gateway to Lahaul, on the Manali-Leh highway to enable transportation facility.

Due to heavy snowfall this winter traffic had come to a standstill in Lahaul Spiti for the past three months, which irked the residents. They are dependent on helicopter sorties arranged by the state government to move in and out of the district in emergency cases. Apart from this, telecommunication service is out of order in major parts of the district since December.

Around 15 panchayats of the district have threatened to boycott the Lok Sabha elections if the state government and the district administration fails to restore road and telecommunication facilities in time.