Chopper ferries staff to Bara Bhangal

Dharamsala, November 10

Advertisement

Polling staff left for Bara Bhangal, the remotest hamlet of Kangra district located deep in the Dhauladhar ranges, by a helicopter to set up a booth for 100 voters there.

ANOTHER BOOTH AT BIR

There are 470 voters registered in Bara Bhangal. Of these, 370 have migrated to the Bir area of Kangra due to the onset of winter. A booth has been set up for these 370 voters in Bir.

Kangra Deputy Commissioner Nipun Jindal said three members were sent by helicopter to Bara Bhangal yesterday. “Today, another sortie of helicopter was carried out and three more members were sent to the village. Now, arrangements have been completed to provide the polling facility to 100 voters in Bara Bhangal,” he added.

Tucked away deep in the Dhauladhar and Pir Panjal ranges of the Himalayas at a height of 7,700 ft, Bara Bhangal is considered to be the remotest village in the hill state. A booth was first set up in the village during the 2007 Assembly polls, 60 years after the country’s independence.

The voters in Bara Bhangal boycotted the 2009 general election as their demand to exclude the village from the sanctuary area was not met. They had, however, voted in the 2012 Assembly elections.

During the previous three elections too, helicopters were used to lift the polling staff to the Bara Bhangal booth. Before 2007, the villagers used to trek 72 km through the 4,654-m-high Thamsar Pass or travel more than 300 km via Chamba to reach Bir in Baijnath to cast their vote.

Most of the villagers are nomad shepherds and migrate to Bir in winter. But, many also stay put, braving the harsh weather. During summer, a large number of shepherds use Bara Bhangal as halting station for supplies.