Election staff trek three days on foot to reach remote Saipal polling stations in Bajhang

Bajhang: Election staff and security personnel deployed to polling stations in Saipal Rural Municipality, a remote mountainous area of Bajhang district, have embarked on a three-day journey on foot to reach their designated work areas.

According to the District Election Office, polling officers, assistant staff, and security personnel carrying election materials departed from the district headquarters in Chainpur on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Chief Election Officer Suvarnaman Banepali stated that the teams were dispatched on schedule, as it takes three days to reach the polling centers due to the region’s challenging terrain.

Polling officers Deepak Raj Joshi at Kanda Secondary School (Kanda polling station), Khagendra Chand at Dhuli Secondary School (Dhuli polling station), and Dinesh Prasad Pandit with his team were sent to their work areas on Saturday. Staff assigned to Saipal-1 Dhalaun Secondary School and Saipal-2 Dhalaun Secondary School polling stations departed on Sunday.

For the Bajhang election, 189 permanent and two temporary polling stations have been designated, with 137 categorized as general, sensitive, or highly sensitive—three in the general, 49 in the sensitive, and 85 in the highly sensitive category. Temporary polling stations will be established at the District Jail and the District Coordination Committee office.

The District Election Office noted that the region’s remote geography and limited transportation facilities make transporting election materials and mobilizing personnel particularly challenging. Security arrangements have been put in place to ensure that the elections are conducted peacefully and in an orderly manner.