To reach Pangi, EVMs get comfort of air travel

Chamba, May 26

With the polling for General Elections slated on June 1 in Himachal Pradesh, the Chamba election authorities yesterday airlifted the electronic voting machines (EVMs) to Pangi, the landlocked valley in the northernmost past of the state.

19 panchayats

• Pangi falls under the Bharmour Assembly segment which is part of the Mandi parliamentary constituency. The valley is spread across 1,595 km, and has 55 villages under 19 panchayats
• It is accessible through more than 600-km route via Lahaul and Spiti from the district headquarters in Chamba
• The second route via Jammu and Kashmir is about 700-km
• The third route from Chamba to Killar via 4,500-m high Sach Pass is currently impassable due to snow
• Before 1966, Pangi was a separate constituency but was merged in Bharmour after the delimitation process, leaving people of Pangi politically alienated

Pangi, which is currently accessible through Jammu and Kashmir or Lahaul and Spiti, falls under the Bharmour Assembly segment, which is part of the Mandi parliamentary constituency.

Chamba Deputy Commissioner and District Electoral Officer Mukesh Repaswal said commissioning process for these machines had been completed in Bharmour prior to their dispatch.

He said Pangi has a total of 39 polling stations and to accommodate these, 55 EVMs were safely delivered by a helicopter. Additionally, 16 extra machines were sent to ensure smooth election operations across the 39 polling stations in the subdivision.

An equal number of Ballot Units (BU), Control Units (CU) and VVPAT units were also dispatched.

The transportation process involved moving the EVMs by road from the strongroom in Bharmour to the Sultanpur Helipad situated at the district headquarters in Chamba. The machines were airlifted to the subdivision headquarters in Killar (Pangi).

Repaswal said the EVMs have been safely placed in the strongroom at Tehsildar’s office in Killar.

The Pangi valley is spread across 1,595 km, and has 55 villages under 19 panchayats. It is accessible through more than 600-km route via Lahaul and Spiti from the district headquarters in Chamba. The second route via Jammu and Kashmir is about 700-km.

The third route from Chamba to Killar via 4,500-m high Sach Pass is currently impassable due to snow and the restoration work is underway. Before 1966, Pangi was a separate constituency but was merged in Bharmour after the delimitation process, leaving people of Pangi politically alienated.